The Reckoning
by invalid-reality
Summary: First in the Chronicles of the Chosen Two series: Buffy, Faith, and the others are faced with yet another apocalypse and they are about to face something they've never faced before...
1. Prologue

**Prologue**

The soft light of the full moon illuminated the ancient cemetery, casting eerie glows from the trees and headstones that dotted the hilly landscape. Faith sat perched on a headstone, watching the fight before her in amusement.

"B, you keep dropping your right shoulder," she pointed out as Buffy took another hard blow from the vampire she'd been fighting for the last several minutes. "You keep giving him an opening."

"You think I don't _know_ that?" Buffy asked, breathless as she swung around, sending the vampire flying with a precise roundhouse kick that landed square on his chest. "And I can do without the commentary here, Faith."

Faith smirked, watching Buffy as she stormed over to where the vampire had landed a few feet away. She lit a cigarette, her third of the night, and exhaled loudly, her eyes never leaving the fight before her. Buffy had it under control, she knew she did, and if they hadn't been playing the game of "it's mine", she would've stepped in to help Buffy dust the vampire.

In the fourteen months since the fall of Sunnydale, they had all come a long way. They established a home in northern Scotland, in a castle not far from the coast overlooking the North Sea. It provided them with the privacy and the space to train the hundreds of young Slayers that came to them to take full advantage of their Calling. In those fourteen months, Faith had become one of them, a key part of their tight inner circle. She and Buffy had established a common ground between them and had become close friends, something they both knew should have happened years ago. They still came head to head on certain issues, but most of their "issues" were rather pointless and petty.

Since they had founded the Slayer Organization, Giles had taken it upon himself to start up the new Council. It provided them with the funding they needed to keep things running, to keep themselves and the hundreds of Slayers that lived with them clothed and fed. Thanks to Andrew they were technologically advanced, and with Xander as the Head of Operations and Andrew as his right hand man, things were run smoothly and efficiently-for the most part.

Buffy and Faith both acted as the Head Slayer, splitting their responsibilities in half. This was where many of their disagreements to a head, but Kennedy always stepped in, acting as a moderator when the two got into how things were to be done around HQ. With Kennedy and Satsu their second and third best Slayers, they helped with the daily training of the younger girls and kept an eye on the fully trained Slayers as they finished the last of their studies out on the field before being sent off to one of two dozen Organizations around the world.

Sunnydale had been their last major apocalypse, but none of them doubted the fact that at any given moment, another could pop up. No long-term plans or commitments were made with any of the Scoobies. They'd all lived through their fair share of apocalypse and although Kennedy had only lived through one-the fight against the First-and Satsu hadn't been through any, they waited expectantly for the next big bad to come storming into their seemingly quiet lifestyle. They prepared the younger Slayers for any and all types of battle. Some of the younger girls had at first felt invincible, that was until they walked into a situation that not all of them always walked out of.

In fourteen months they'd all lived, learned, and grown together. Buffy, Xander, and Willow's friendship, having been slightly deterred during the fight against the First, was re-established and they were closer than they'd ever been before. Faith and Kennedy became fast friends much to most of the other's surprise. When Kennedy wasn't off with Willow, she was with Faith. Dawn on the other hand had finished high school and had gone on to train as a Watcher under Giles' watchful eye and guidance.

They trained up to twenty girls at a time, in six-month intervals. The newest batch had just joined them seven weeks ago and they had caught on rather quickly, not having been as young as the ones that had been there before them.

Faith laughed as Buffy took a rather nasty fall, becoming unlucky once again as the vampire caught her off guard. "I told ya, B," Faith said between bouts of laughter. "You keep dropping your right shoulder, opening yourself right up."

Buffy groaned as she picked herself up from the ground and charged at the vampire, slipping her stake out of the inner pocket of her jacket and quickly dusted him. "Happy now?"

"Nah," Faith smirked as she hopped off the headstone. "It's pretty entertaining watching you get your ass kicked."

"Shut up," Buffy snapped, but she couldn't stop the smile that slipped out as they walked side by side through the cemetery. Buffy bumped her shoulder against Faith's and they both shared a look. "And I didn't get my ass kicked."

"Sure looked like it to me."

Buffy rolled her eyes and they continued walking through the cemetery, meeting up with Kennedy and Satsu where they were waiting for them at the main gates. Thursday nights were the only night the younger Slayers had off. Buffy, Faith, Kennedy, and Satsu went out on patrol together and it was no coincidence that Thursday nights was one of the slowest nights of the week. It had been that way since they arrived in Scotland, but none of them dwelled on the fact for very long.

"How'd it go?" Kennedy asked as the four of them slipped past the iron gates permanently rusted, open just enough for them to slip through one by one.

"Buffy got her ass kicked," Faith chuckled and she saw the punch to her shoulder coming long before it landed, but it wasn't hard as it was only playful in nature. "Jesus, B, I was only kidding!"

"Right," Buffy said with a roll of her eyes and she walked ahead of them, leading the three of them down the dirt path that led through the forest.

"Let me guess," Kennedy said quietly as she leaned in to Faith. "She kept dropping her right shoulder?"

"Of course."

"She never learns, does she?"

"Guys?" Buffy scoffed as she turned to face them. "I'm right here! At least wait until I'm not within earshot to talk about me."

"She's always within earshot even when she's not," Kennedy muttered under her breath and Faith laughed as she shoved her away from her, giving Buffy her most innocent look when she turned around again to glare at them. "You get any good slays in tonight?"

"One," she replied with a nod and a shrug and tossed her cigarette butt to the ground before lighting another. "Easy fight, dusted him in under two minutes."

"And what about the one that..." Kennedy trailed off, motioning towards Buffy who was now a good thirty feet ahead of them and barely visible in the dark forest.

"Ten, fifteen minutes tops," Faith replied and they both laughed. "Sometimes I swear she just prolongs the fight 'cause she just _knows_ it's gonna be her one good slay of the night, especially on nights like this one where it's so slow ya wanna gouge your eyes out just for some form of relief from boredom."

"Disturbingly graphic."

"Just an example."

"We got company. Incoming behind us and fast," Satsu said from behind them, stopping even Buffy in her tracks.

Buffy ran back, all four of them at the ready as seven large vampires quickly approached. The vampires came to a stop five feet in front of them. Time felt that it was standing still; even the slight late summer breeze had stopped as the vampires and the Slayers faced off. Faith and Buffy stood side by side, Kennedy flanking Faith's left while Satsu flanked Buffy's right.

"You know what this reminds me of?" Kennedy asked quietly. "That game you played in grade school, Red Rover."

Faith chuckled and stopped when Buffy jabbed her hard in the ribs. She knew now wasn't the time for jokes. This was why Buffy didn't want her and Kennedy to patrol alone together. They spent more time joking around than focusing on the job at hand. Faith flashed Buffy a smile before she turned her attention back to the vampires standing in front of them, unmoving.

"What's their deal?" Faith asked nobody in particular as she eyed the vampire in the middle.

"They're waiting," Kennedy replied and she reached for her stake tucked in the back of her jeans. "They're waiting on us to make the first move."

But before any of them could take a step forward, dozens of arrows came flying through the air from behind the vampires; each of them turning to dust the instant one lucky arrow pierced their hearts. Faith let out a soft laugh as she spotted a group of the younger Slayers just up the hill a little ways off.

"Knew this batch had balls on 'em," Faith laughed as she and Kennedy high-fived each other. Buffy scoffed as she placed her hands on her hips and shook her head. "What, B?"

"Nothing. I just thought..."

"You wanted to fight, huh?"

"Yes. Whose brilliant idea was it to train them with the crossbows three weeks before the schedule? Yours," Buffy said coldly and she rolled her eyes. "Great, Faith."

"What? You're actually _complaining_ we didn't have to fight those assholes, B?"

"No, I'm not complaining. Just a little disappointed."

"Disappointed that a non-fat yogurt ain't gonna sate those cravings ya got?" Faith winked as she ran a little to get away from Buffy before the punch to her shoulder came. "Just sayin' how it is, B! And you should know by now there's plenty of other ways to get rid of that..." she trailed off and paused for a moment as Buffy glared at her. "Frustration," she finished with a laugh and took off running as Buffy came after her.

This was just how it was between them now. There was no more malice, no more of their past haunting them and holding them back. Even in tense moments, they managed to find something to laugh about. Faith knew she brought a side of Buffy out that had never been there before, a side that loosened her up and made her see that she could have fun every once in awhile even if the situation didn't call for it. Faith knew Buffy would try to tackle her and she moved quickly as Buffy launched herself at her and spun around quickly to catch the sight of Buffy falling face first into a puddle of mud.

"You are _so_ dead," Buffy grumbled as she got to her feet and wiped the mud from her face.

Faith, Kennedy, and Satsu all laughed as Buffy tripped over a root on the ground and fell again, narrowly missing another puddle of mud. Faith walked over to her, held her hand out, and wasn't surprised at all when Buffy pulled her down hard.

Their laughter echoed through the forest and in to the night. Life was good. Life was easy. Maybe a little _too_ easy, but none of them seemed to be complaining. Much.


	2. Chapter 1

**Chapter One**

Their laughter was still ongoing as they walked through the front gates of the castle. Faith didn't even care that her last pair of leathers had been ruined from landing butt first in the mud. They cut across the courtyard and entered through the kitchen doors, their laughter fading when they found Giles and Willow sitting at the kitchen table that was piled high with books from the library.

"Let me guess," Giles said, smiling warmly as he looked over at Buffy and Faith. "Mud demon?"

"Something like that," Buffy replied. "When did you get here? I thought you were staying in London for another week? Did Dawn come back with you?"

"One question at a time, Buffy. Schedules changed and I've dealt with the new Watcher's Council and set up an efficient training module. Dawn is here-"

"Where is she?" Buffy cut him off, already making her way towards the elevator at the far end of the kitchen. "Is she in her room?"

Giles nodded and turned to Faith, smirking as she tried to wipe the drying mud from her pants. Faith rolled her eyes as she walked to the fridge and opened the door. She grabbed a cold bottle of water and opened it as she shut the door with her foot. She downed the entire bottle quickly and let out a sigh as she placed the empty bottle down on the counter.

"How are things, Faith?"

"Peachy, G."

"Anything noteworthy happen on patrol tonight?"

"Other than the newbies taking out seven vamps with crossbows? Nah," Faith replied and she held up a hand before Giles could say a word. "I know I wasn't supposed to train them with "advanced" weapons just yet, but these girls got skills and they proved it tonight."

"I was only going to say that I trust your judgement when it comes to the girls," Giles said calmly and he closed the book that was open in front of him. "It may be for the best if the training is slightly accelerated from here on out. We can never be too prepared for whatever will come next."

"You think there's somethin' brewing?"

"There is always a possibility that there is, yes."

"Any idea just what?"

"Nothing as of this moment."

Faith grabbed another bottle of water out of the fridge and headed out of the kitchen and through the main training room to the stairs at the front of the castle. She took them two at a time up to the third floor and went straight to her room. She closed the heavy wooden door behind her, making sure the lock was latched. She flipped on her stereo, Iron Maiden blaring throughout the room as she stripped out of her clothes and headed for her bathroom.

Her room was her sanctuary and she'd made it home the second day they'd all moved into the castle. Nobody else ever set foot inside her room, which most of the time looked like a bomb had gone off with all the clothes strewn over the furniture and the floor and even more spilling out of the modest sized wardrobe she had. She turned on the water in the shower, listening to the beat of the music that drowned out her thoughts completely. The castle walls were thick, so thick that even with Slayer hearing, none of them could hear beyond them. It's what made her feel secluded in her room and it's what made it feel more like hers. Never in her life had she had a room to truly call her own and now that she did, there were a few fleeting moments when she thought it'd all be taken from her.

After a quick shower, she dressed in only a pair of black boi shorts and a white tank, flopped down on her unmade bed, and grabbed the journal she'd been keeping since they arrived in Scotland off the nightstand and flipped to a fresh page. It had been Giles' idea for all of them to keep a rather detailed account of their lives there in Scotland. For the most part, her journal was only of key events, never of her thoughts. She quickly wrote down the events of patrol, the entry barely half a page by the time she was done. She placed the journal back on the nightstand and rolled onto her back, closing her eyes and letting the music once again drown out her thoughts.

She barely heard the pounding on her door over the driving heavy metal and she groaned as she got up from the bed and flipped off the music before opening the door. She cocked her head to the side and raised an eyebrow at Buffy as she stood there in the hallway with her arms crossed over her chest.

"What's up, B?"

"Didn't you hear me knocking for the last five minutes?"

"Sure. Just thought if I ignored it, you'd go away," Faith joked as she stood in the opening of the doorway, blocking Buffy's view from her room. "Seriously, what's up?"

Buffy didn't answer her as she pushed the door open, her jaw dropping as she looked over the mess in Faith's room. "I knew it."

"Knew what?"

"Don't you _ever_ clean up after yourself?"

"Sure," Faith shrugged, not bothering to stop Buffy as she stepped into the room. "Do it when I feel like it."

"Which is never from the look of things in here," Buffy said with moderate disgust. "I actually just came here to talk to you."

"About what?"

"Can you at least put some clothes on?"

"I got clothes on, B," Faith chuckled and she walked over to the bed and sat down. "What'd you want to talk to me about? If this is about the girls-"

"What gave you the right to train them before they're supposed to be trained?"

"Giles doesn't seem to think there's a problem with me accelerating their training," Faith shot out, crossing her arms over her chest heavily and she watched Buffy toe a pile of dirty clothes away from the door. "Besides, you and I both know they ain't trained enough to deal with something major. Face it, B, we're treating them like babies, we're coddling them. We need to make them see just what being a Slayer really is. Don't know why you get your granny-panties in such a twist."

"I do not wear granny-panties!"

Faith laughed as Buffy's face turned red, mostly in anger, embarrassment and moderate amusement. She loved teasing Buffy especially when they were about to come to a disagreement over the girls, which was usually the only thing they fought about lately. Knowing just how to push Buffy's buttons, she leaned forward on the bed and salaciously licked over her lips.

"Prove it."

"Faith!" Buffy looked flabbergasted and her face reddened even more when Faith burst out laughing. "God, can't you ever be serious about anything?"

"Just don't wanna fight with you tonight, that's all," she shrugged. "And I was bein' serious."

"Ugh, you are impossible sometimes!"

"Of course I am."

"Arrogant and cocky."

"Pretty sure they mean the same thing, B."

"Not when it comes to you!" Buffy laughed and she finally eased up on her stiff, uptight attitude that she'd slipped into the moment Faith had opened the door. "Your room is absolutely disgusting."

"I like it just the way it is."

"I don't get how you can live like this."

"Easy," Faith replied and she reclined back on the bed and stared over at Buffy. "Hey, if it bothers you so much, by all means," she said, waving a hand around the room, "clean it for me."

"I would, but..."

"But what?"

"I'm afraid of what's living under those dirty clothes," Buffy smirked and ducked out of the way of the pillow Faith flung at her. "We'll talk about training protocol in the morning. I'm going to call a meeting with everyone now that Giles and Dawn are back. Make sure you're down in the training room before nine."

"Nine? In the morning?" Faith gagged and grabbed the pillow when Buffy flung it back at her. "That's practically the ass crack of dawn!"

"Make sure you're there before nine, Faith. I mean it. We've got to set an example for the girls and it's hard to do that when you make up your own rules and don't get out of bed until after noon every day."

"Fine, I'll be there around nine."

"_Before_ nine."

"Whatever, B. Night." Faith rolled her eyes as Buffy slipped out of the room and shut the door behind her.

They'd been like this since about a month after they'd arrived in Scotland. Spending countless of hours together a day, alone, sometimes with Willow and Kennedy, had resulted in them gradually growing closer. She wasn't as close with Buffy as she was with Kennedy though, and she had a strange feeling that their friendship would be forever stalled between the lines of good friends and best friends. She didn't fall in line for Buffy the way the others did and she knew how much that drove Buffy insane that she lived by her own rules and not anyone else's. She'd only followed them after Sunnydale because she knew she needed a purpose in life and Giles had been the one to convince her that helping them train the younger Slayers would be a good place to start.

Faith got up to latch the door shut and she flipped off the lights, stumbling over the mess of clothes and boots on the floor on the way back over to the bed. Every once in awhile she thought about how she'd ended up where she was and why she chose to go on with them instead of going with her gut instinct to go back to jail where she belonged. It was all Giles, followed by the others-even Buffy-that had convinced her she could do far greater good there with them than locked away in a cell doing twenty-five to life.

There were days she was grateful she'd been convinced to go on with the Scoobs and help them start the Slayer Organization and then there were those few fleeting days, moments rather, that she always doubted whether she made the right decision or not. They had been right though. She could do and has done far greater good there with them than she ever would've sitting in a cell, wasting her life as a Slayer. Besides, she never would've become one of them if she'd gone back to prison and every day she was thankful that Buffy and the Scoobies had welcomed her into their tight little circle and treated her as one of them.

Faith knew she'd been through a lot of personal changes since they left Sunnydale. Her attitude towards life had changed, matured, but not enough that it changed her from who she really was. Her attitude wasn't bitter or angry anymore. She wasn't self-destructive and hell bent on torturing those around her. Those days had long since passed and she knew it'd take a lot for that part of her to come back. She wasn't living her life alone anymore. She had Buffy, Kennedy, Giles, and the others now. And they were a family, or at least as close to a family that she'd ever had.

* * *

Faith strolled into the training room on the main floor shortly after eleven. It was empty aside from Buffy working the heavy bag on the other side of the room. She didn't need to see Buffy's face to know she was pissed off and that she was the sole reason Buffy was pissed to begin with. It wasn't the first meeting she'd slept right through and she knew it wouldn't be the last. She knew Buffy knew it too, but some things just never changed between them.

There was only ever one thing they came head to head on and that was how they trained the girls, sometimes over patrol schedules and the fact that Faith usually always missed those early morning meetings even if it wasn't intentional. It wasn't _her_ fault she couldn't wake up early in the morning anymore. Sleep was a luxury she was taking full advantage of since she knew another apocalypse had to be looming in the near future. They'd gone just over fourteen months without anything too major to deal with and that alone was a record.

Thunder rumbled loudly outside as Faith made her way over to one of the treadmills. She pulled her hair back, tying it back loosely with the elastic band she had around her wrist. She turned on the machine and started off with a slow jog, instantly falling into a rhythm that shut her thoughts right off. She was mentally counting down how long it'd take for Buffy to confront her about missing the meeting and she'd barely gotten to twenty before Buffy yanked her off the treadmill.

"Nice, Faith," she said dryly as she turned the machine off. "When I say before nine I don't mean to come down whenever you damn well please!"

"Chill out, B."

"Don't you tell me to "chill out, B," since we go through this every single time, Faith! Is it really that impossible for you to get up before noon?"

"Last I checked, yeah," Faith replied with a soft chuckle and crossed her arms over her chest, watching the anger flicker through Buffy's eyes. "Don't get your granny-panties in a twist, B. You should know by now I don't do mornings."

"We don't all revolve around your schedule," Buffy snapped. "Fall in line, Faith. If you expect this all to work the way it should be, you need to be at the meetings on time!"

"You know," Faith smirked as she let her eyes roam up and down Buffy's body. "You're pretty hot when you're pissed off."

"Shut up."

"Can't even take a compliment? Harsh. Must really have your granny-panties in a twist lately," Faith laughed, winking as Buffy's anger raged inside of her. She knew what was coming next and she was ready, falling into a fight stance as Buffy came at her. "You should know by now I'm always ready for ya, B."

"And you should know by now that teasing me like that only gets me angry," Buffy shot back as they began to circle each other. "And I can take a compliment. I like being complimented, but coming from you? It's hardly ever a genuine compliment."

"You wouldn't know a genuine compliment if it smacked you on the ass," Faith replied and she moved quickly and slapped her across the ass to make her point, ducking out of the way of Buffy's flying fist half a second later.

They always sparred this way when they were alone. Faith teasing her, testing her, pushing her to her limits of control over her anger, always seeing just how far she could take things. Faith always upped the flirting when they sparred, always hoping to catch Buffy off-guard just so she could get the upper hand. For the most part, it worked, but Buffy was quickly becoming immune to her little game she liked to play with her. Living in the castle was boring for the most part and teasing Buffy was one of her few forms of entertainment.

She ducked out of the way of Buffy's sloppy roundhouse kick and she swept her leg around, trying to take Buffy out, but her moves were always seen a second before by Buffy and she groaned when Buffy jumped out of the way. She blocked the right hook, grabbing on to Buffy's hand and tried to get her into a hold. Buffy let out a growl as she flipped Faith over her shoulder, laughing when Faith looked up at her from the floor slightly dazed.

"Can't believe you still use the same moves, B."

"Can't believe you haven't learned any new ones, F."

They continued to circle around each other, both of them faking moves, waiting for an opening. Faith wiggled her eyebrows and blew Buffy a kiss, catching her slightly off guard long enough to get a quick jab to the stomach that sent her stumbling back a couple of steps.

"Low blow," Buffy muttered, quickly recovering from the hard punch. "Really low blow, F."

"Nah, just lucky you still fall for this shit," Faith said with a wink. "Come on, B. What do ya say we go all out here? Itching for a good sparring session, especially since last night was wicked disappointing."

Buffy rolled her eyes as Faith cracked her knuckles and they both resumed their fight stance. Faith made the first move, trying a backhand punch with her left and quickly moving in for a jab with her right. Buffy blocked both with ease and threw a hard right hook, but only after she faked Faith out with a side kick. It clipped Faith in the jaw, just barely since she tried to duck out of the way, half a second too slow.

"I'll just remind you how boring this almost vampire-vacation was during the next apocalypse, deal?" Buffy said with a smirk Faith wanted nothing more than to slap it off the instant it appeared.

"You do that."

"I will."

"Fine," Faith said stoically, trying to keep a straight face as Buffy burst out laughing. "What?"

"You know," Buffy drawled as she shook out of her fight stance and stared at Faith for a moment. "You're kinda cute when you try to act all pissed off."

"Cute? _Cute_?" Faith laughed deeply as she clutched her sides. "You're kidding me, right? This," she said as she waved her hands up and down her own body, "is not cute. This is sexy."

Buffy opened and closed her mouth, almost as if she wanted to say something, but was at a loss for words. Faith smirked, knowing she'd gotten to her and she was internally celebrating victory, not seeing the leg sweep until she was flat on her back. Faith flipped back up to her feet and grabbed onto Buffy's wrist, yanking her close and without a second thought, she kissed her. Faith had no idea what had made her kiss Buffy, but in the heat of the moment, it had just happened. The kiss lasted all but five seconds before Buffy roughly pushed her away.

"What the hell are you doing, Faith?"

Trying to play off her sudden nervousness, she shrugged nonchalantly and smirked. "What did it look like, B? Been too long that you forgot what it's like to be kissed?"

"It's not been too long! I kiss people!"

"Yeah? Like who?"

"Like that guy when we were in London and you dragged me to that pub and-"

"That guy was a dog, B. Do I look like a fuckin' dog to you?"

Faith knew she should've seen the punch coming by a mile, yet she allowed Buffy the chance to land it. She groaned as she tumbled back to the floor, her head dizzy, and her jaw shooting sharp pains throughout her face before it went numb from the pain. Kissing Buffy had switched something on inside of her and she knew, without a single doubt, that it'd switched something on inside of Buffy too. Her head was spinning slightly from the punch to her jaw, but when she saw Buffy turn to walk away, she kicked out her legs from under her and scrambled over to pin her to the floor.

"Faith, get off of me."

"No."

"I'm serious!" Buffy squealed as she struggled to get out from under Faith's tight hold. "Get off of me."

Faith ignored her, licking over her lips as she stared down at Buffy. Her face was flushed, her eyes flickering with anger and if she wasn't mistaken, there was a hint of arousal there as well. She leaned forward, her lips just a breath away from Buffy's and she loosened her grip on Buffy's arms, raising a hand to cup her cheek gently. Buffy moved her free hand to the back of Faith's neck, pulling her down that last breath, their lips meeting in a soft yet unsure kiss.

Faith's heart was racing wildly, her blood pumping quickly through her veins, her clit pulsing in time to the beat of her racing her. Nobody had ever got her so worked up with just a kiss and she tried to convince her inner voice that she was only so worked up because she'd just spent a good twenty minutes before sparring with Buffy and not because it was Buffy she had pinned beneath her, kissing her.

She held back for a few seconds more, her lips just barely pressing against Buffy's, waiting for her to push her off and put an end to this. Her whole body buzzed when Buffy tightened her grip on the back of her neck and eased a tongue over her lips. Faith held back the moan she could feel at the back of her throat as she parted her lips and allowed Buffy's tongue to slip over hers. It was the small whimper that escaped past Buffy's lips, vibrating over her own, that pushed her over the edge and she kissed her furiously, deeply, feeling that kiss all over her body. Faith let go of her other arm, so caught up in the kiss that she didn't care if she had Buffy pinned to the floor or not.

Big mistake.

Buffy flipped her over on to her back without breaking the kiss. She straddled her hips, digging her nails in to the back of Faith's neck, kissing her deeper. Faith moved her hands to Buffy's hips, pulling her harder against her, feeling her whole body react to the feel of Buffy's lithe body on top of her. She slipped a hand down the back of Buffy's sweatpants, groaning as Buffy pulled back from the kiss roughly and pushed herself up off of her.

"Okay, that's too much," Buffy said breathlessly as she nervously fidgeted with the hem of her tank top. "What the hell, Faith?"

"At least I know now that you ain't a granny-panties wearing chick," Faith smirked, unmoving from the floor, unable to really feel her entire body since it was buzzing wildly with arousal. "Where you goin'?" She asked when Buffy headed for the doorway that lead to the kitchen. "B?"

"I'm done."

"Done?" Faith questioned as she leaned up on her elbows and watched as Buffy came to a stop just by the doorway and let out a heavy sigh. "Come on, B. We were just getting started!"

"With what? The sparring or the kissing?"

"Little of both," Faith winked as she rose to her feet. She moved quickly to stop Buffy from leaving and rolled her eyes when Buffy avoided looking at her. "What's the what, B? You all weirded out 'cause you kissed me?"

"_You_ kissed _me_ first!"

"What are you, fuckin' twelve, B? Why you so weirded out?"

Buffy sighed. "I am not weirded out! Okay no, maybe I am a little weirded out. Freaking out being the key word here." She sighed again almost as if she was trying to keep herself calm before she finally turned her head to look at Faith. "Why?"

"Why what?"

"Why'd you kiss me?"

"Why'd you kiss me back?"

"Why are you answering my questions with questions?"

Faith laughed as she took a step forward towards Buffy. "'Cause it's fun seeing ya get that..._thong_...in a twist." She smirked when Buffy took a step back and she moved quickly to pin her up against the wall next to the doorway. "So tell me, B, what're ya freaking out for?"

"I liked it," Buffy whispered as her eyes averted quickly away from Faith's intense stare. "It's wrong. I can't-we can't-"

Faith silenced her by kissing her hard. It took Buffy a total of three seconds-three long agonizing seconds for Faith-to respond to the kiss. But the kiss didn't last much longer before Faith felt herself being pushed away forcefully and was left stunned as she watched Buffy retreat from the training room.

Buffy had left her head spinning and full of thoughts of why this had happened between them, of why she couldn't get enough of kissing her. It was _Buffy_. She wasn't supposed to feel this way about her. She wasn't supposed to want her so badly that it hurt.

* * *

Buffy slammed her hand against the button to close the elevator doors, her head spinning, and her lips still tingling from that kiss. With _Faith_. She'd kissed Faith and had allowed it the first time without beating her off. _Why_ was the question she kept asking herself and why did she like it?

"Get a grip," she muttered to herself as the elevator doors closed. "You didn't like it."

Buffy laughed at herself, at that inner voice that was torn between denying how kissing Faith had made her feel and admitting she'd never quite felt a buzz like that from just a kiss. There had definitely been some kind of spark between them that even she couldn't deny. In her mind she came to a Buffy rationalization that it was why she _liked_ it and hadn't stopped Faith from kissing her the second time, as brief as it had been.

She knew that they'd all been through a lot of changes since Sunnydale and that none of them, even her, weren't quite who'd they'd been before. They'd grown together, matured; became better Slayers while training the younger girls with the skills they'd need to survive their world. Her friendship with Faith had grown and she learned to trust Faith just as Faith had learned to trust her and the others. Faith had been the one who had changed the most out of all of them, but sometimes she wondered if it was change or if this was just who Faith really was and that she was no longer hiding it and holding herself back because she'd found a level of acceptance with all of them.

Shaking slightly, Buffy brought the tips of her fingers to her still tingling lips as the elevator came to a stop. She shook off the swarm of feelings and thoughts that were trying to invade her mind as the doors slid open slowly. She let out a sigh of relief to find the third floor quiet. She slipped to her room quickly, shutting the door and making sure the latch was locked behind her.

"From now on you avoid being alone with her," Buffy said to herself, leaning up against the wooden door and closing her eyes as she tried to wipe away the memories and thoughts of Faith kissing her. "Hello, denial, it's Buffy," she laughed as she knew that it hadn't been Faith that had made the first move.

Her thoughts were disrupted by the warning signal that rang loudly throughout the castle. Willow's voice came over the intercom calling everyone to the control room. The alarm rarely ever went off and when it did, it was never a good sign.


	3. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

Everyone in the castle gathered around the control room. Xander was at the front of the group, whispering with Buffy and Giles. Kennedy had come back from a routine patrol of the caves a couple of miles away, bruised, battered, and barely able to walk. Barely.

Faith knew why the alarm had been sounded. Nothing was ever found in the maze of caves that overlooked the North Sea. Whatever Kennedy had found there had beaten her easily. Kennedy was one of the top Slayers, a strong, quick, efficient fighter that always walked away from battle without so much as a scratch on her. Faith hadn't seen Kennedy with her own eyes and from the sound of it as the younger slayers whispered among each other, it was bad.

"She's in the infirmary. Willow is there with her and trying a healing spell right now," Satsu said quietly to Faith as she stood to her right. "It's really bad. I've never seen her that hurt before."

"Vamps?"

"No, I don't know what it was. Demons maybe?"

"Ain't ever run into demons around these parts before. Salt air keeps 'em away. You know as well as I do that they keep inland as much as they can these days and don't hang out in them caves."

"Unless that's what they've led us on to believe," Satsu said under her breath and Faith, along with a few others, heard her. "Nobody seems to know anything and when I left the infirmary, Kennedy was unconscious so she's no help to us right now."

Faith felt torn between ducking out for a cigarette, heading to the infirmary to check on Kennedy, and staying right there to hear whatever Buffy, Giles, and Xander had to say about this situation. But when her eyes met Buffy's, everything was forgotten and all she could vividly remember was what happened less than twenty minutes before in the training room. Her lips and entire body tingled at the thought, the memories of Buffy kissing her, her body tight against hers, breathing ragged-no, she was getting ahead of herself there, thinking like that. But she couldn't help it. That kiss with Buffy before those out of control hands of hers ruined it. It had been better than sex for her and that alone scared her for reasons she'd rather not think about at a time like this.

The tension in the room rose as Buffy cleared her throat and motioned for all of them to quiet down and listen. Faith made her way through the group of younger slayers to the front, taking her place next to Giles as he stepped down from the small platform Buffy and Xander stood on.

"I'm calling a state of awareness, not emergency," Buffy said as she looked around at the others. "As you all know, Kennedy has been seriously injured during what should have been a normal routine patrol. The caves have been deserted but as we have all been aware, it's never unnecessary to continue to patrol there daily. Unfortunately for Kennedy, she encountered...whatever it was she encountered alone and we need to find out just what it was she found there."

Xander took a step forward and adjusted his eye patch as he looked over the room and composed himself. "We're sending out teams of five to patrol the caves," he began as he paused to look at Buffy. "I know none of you know what it's like to go through anything major, but right now we aren't taking this situation lightly. Your teams are posted just outside the room. We'll be doing shifts and if any of you find anything out of the ordinary-"

"If you find a nest of vampires or demons, you are to report back here," Buffy cut in, taking over her role as Head Slayer, full authority laced in every word she spoke. "We have no idea what it is we're facing. Kennedy is-"

"Wait," Willow said as she appeared suddenly out of thin air between Buffy and Xander. "I know exactly what we are dealing with."

"Which is?" Xander asked, appearing calm and collected, but Faith knew he was just as scared and unsure as most of the younger slayers were.

"Neqa'el."

"What the hell?" Buffy asked, turning her back to the others as she stared at Willow. "Nyquil?"

"Neqa'el. Fallen angels," Willow replied. "Banned to the mortal plane. Aggressive, powerful, no sense of...well, you know, right and wrong."

"How powerful?" Buffy asked as Faith joined them up on the platform. "Nothing we can't handle, right?"

"Think of a God, Buffy," Willow said under her breath. "Remember how hard it was to fight Glory? It's the same thing, but not quite. You _can_ fight them. It'll just be as hard as it was when you fought against Glory. They have powers, each of them have something different. We don't know too much as of this moment, but as soon as we assemble a research team, we'll find out all we can."

"Did the healing spell work?" Faith asked as she nudged Willow in the shoulder. "Ken is okay, isn't she?"

"She'll be fine. The healing spell didn't work, but I managed to make her...comfortable. Whatever the Neqa'el did to her, it's immune to magic."

"There was a prophecy once written," Andrew said as he stood from the chair behind the control board. "A prophecy of which the Slayer would face the fallen child of God. This prophecy should have passed about thirty years ago, yet it never happened. Until now."

"What prophecy?" Giles asked as he stepped forward and furrowed his eyebrows. "I've never read of such a thing."

"It's from the Watcher diaries, one of them, from about three hundred years ago. You lent me the volume a month ago," Andrew said and he sighed loudly as he walked over to the desk at the control panel and picked up a rather thin, old and worn book from the pile of books and papers that had accumulated on the desk. "This is the only known record of Neqa'el I've read so far. It doesn't give us much to go by, but it's a start and all those Christianity myths about fallen angels are put to rest once you read this."

"Whatever those things were, they ain't no children of God," Kennedy muttered as she entered the control room. "No children of _God_ would ever possess that kind of strength. Whatever they are, they are more than just "fallen angels" and I should know. I walked into a group of nearly a dozen of them. Even if they were vamps, I'd have had no chance in walking away from that fight."

"Ladies," Xander said as calmly as he could as he faced the room of slayers. "There'll be a meeting before patrol tonight about this situation. We'll try to find out as much as we can before then."

The younger slayers left the control room and Buffy let out a heavy sigh as she stood there with her arms crossed over her chest. Nobody said a word until all the younger slayers had left. Kennedy looked as if she could barely stand and she was leaning on Willow, her breathing shallow and ragged.

"Get her back to the infirmary," Buffy ordered Willow. "She's in no state to be here right now."

"I'm fine," Kennedy spat at her, glaring angrily as she struggled to stand up on her own. "I need to be here. We need to figure out what the hell these things are doing here and why they're in the caves and why now."

"Kennedy is quite right," Giles said, clearing his throat as the others looked at him. "We do need to figure out why they are here and why now. If Andrew is correct about this prophecy, it's thirty years too late. Some things could have changed over time."

Faith grabbed the diary out of Andrew's hand and flipped through until she found the prophecy he'd been talking about. She shook her head and handed the book to Giles and pointed out for him to read the date. The ink was smudged, but it was no mistake just what year was written.

"You complete moron!" Giles snapped as he threw the diary at Andrew. "This prophecy wasn't to happen thirty years ago, it's to happen this year. It is indeed already happening. How long have you known about this?"

"Uh...couple of months?" Andrew squeaked and he ducked behind the chair before Giles could find something to throw at him. "I'm sorry! The writing is hard to read and it's smudged! How was I supposed to know it said 2004 and not 1974?"

"It doesn't matter what the prophecy says," Buffy said as she looked around at them, her eyes falling upon Faith for a few lingering seconds. "The only thing that matters right now is finding out what they are doing here."

"I'll gather some girls and get started with the research," Willow said and she helped Kennedy move down off the platform. "And you missy, you are going to go back into bed and you aren't going to get out until you are better. Andrew, help Kenny to our room. I'm sure she'd rather sleep in our bed than in the infirmary."

"Faith?" Buffy said quietly as the others started to leave the control room. "Can we talk?"

"If it's not about this situation, no. I ain't in no mood to talk right now, B."

"We both know we need to talk about...what happened," she whispered, casting a quick glance over her shoulder at Xander who was looking over the dozen monitors that were hooked up to the cameras set up all over the castle. "Just give me five minutes to say what I need to say."

"No need," Faith said, holding up a hand as she backed up. "Already know what you're gonna say, B. It was a mistake and it can never happen again. Got the memo when you walked away."

"Faith-"

"Told ya, I ain't in no mood to talk right now," Faith cut her off. "I'm gonna go see if Willow needs a hand with researching."

Faith quickly retreated out of the control room and headed down the hallway to the library where a group of the girls had already assembled around the round table in the middle, piled high with books that'd been pulled from the shelves. She found Willow sitting on the couch by one of the five large floor to ceiling windows, already flipping through a large, heavy-looking book.

She never planned to do any research. She only wanted to avoid being alone with Buffy. She knew they would eventually need to talk about that kiss between them, but she wasn't ready to be confronted by Buffy just yet. She made her way through the stacks, finding a corner in the furthest point in the vast library. She reached behind one of the fiction books on a shelf laden with dust and pulled out the pack of cigarettes she'd stashed there.

That kiss was driving her insane with questions she couldn't answer. Why now, why right when the next apocalypse was looming and they didn't have a chance to rationally figure out what was going on between them? Lighting a cigarette with one of the last two matches in the book, she inhaled deeply and leaned against the stack of books, closing her eyes as the rush of nicotine hit her nice and hard. When she heard the sound of Buffy's voice as she came into the library, she hightailed it to the nearest window, opening it just enough to slip out.

"Where are you going?" Buffy asked as she rounded the corner and stood a few feet from Faith. "And you're smoking in here? I thought we agreed there was no smoking inside months ago?"

"You agreed. I just went along with it to keep from fighting with you," Faith muttered and she took one last drag before she flicked the cigarette out the open window.

"We're heading out," Buffy said, taking a step back as she motioned for Faith to follow. "I'm not sending the girls out there alone until you and I figure out just what's going on in those caves."

"Hold up, B," Faith said, stopping Buffy in her tracks. "You don't want the girls to head out alone when you're all "safety is in numbers" chick and yet ya want you and me to go out there alone?"

"We're just looking, not fighting. Whatever Willow and the others will find in books isn't going to help us completely and you know it, Faith. It's up to us to lead the others through this and we need to take a stand and do things the right way."

"And the right way is to put our own lives at risk? Nuh uh, B. Get a few of the others to come with. I ain't going there alone with you."

"Are you afraid of what we'll find or are you afraid of being alone with me? And since when did you become scared? You used to always be up for checking things out."

"After seeing what Ken looks like after facing those demons, damn right I'm scared. She's one of our best, B, and if she came back looking like _that_, I really don't wanna go into those caves with only you as my backup."

"You're just afraid of going there alone with me, aren't you?"

"Never was on any other mission before, was I? Don't see how now is any different. Just don't like the idea of it just being you and me, B. Think about it. It ain't the best idea. What happens if they spot us and want to fight? What do we do then? We may be the Chosen Two, but if there are a dozen of those demons, you and I both know we ain't got a chance in hell without some numbers behind us."

"So what _do_ we do then, Faith?"

"Let Willow and the girls get the research done, at least enough to give us some kind of idea of just what exactly we're up against here. Once we know more, we come up with a game plan and we all go in."

"So what, we just sit and wait? Tell me how that makes any sense!"

Faith knew Buffy was getting frustrated and angry that she wasn't going along with her plan to check out things out in the caves. But Buffy's plans weren't always rational, and she tried not to think of how many times the situation, the logic of it all had been reversed and that Buffy normally thought that way when it came to her, not the other way around. She wasn't about to get into it with Buffy either and she leaned out the window and picked up her still burning cigarette from the ground, surprised it was still lit despite the torrential downpour outside.

"Stop and think about it," Faith said once she'd taken a few long drags of her cigarette. "These demons are fallen angels and from the shit I've read before, they're strong and quick and hardly defeated. My guess? They want to single us out, take us down one by one. So yeah, my logic makes perfect sense when you think about it, B. We're not gonna go in there just the two of us. Two against a dozen, if not more? These Neqa'el ain't your average demons or vamps. Normal tactic ain't gonna work this time."

"You got another?" Buffy asked, sighing as Faith nodded and grabbed the pack from the shelf and pulled out a cigarette. She lit it with the one still burning and passed it to her. "Don't let this go to your head here, but I think you're right for once. I don't know what I was thinking. I don't think I'm even thinking. All I can think about is that-"

"Don't," Faith stopped her and she shook her head and held up her hand when Buffy went to continue. "I ain't in no fuckin' mood to talk about what happened earlier, B."

"We need to talk about it! We kissed, we were practically making out and you copped a feel!"

"Only tried to prove my theory of the whole granny-panties wearing deal. Hardly coppin' a feel."

"Bullshit."

"Call it whatever the hell you want. Things just got outta hand, that's all, B," Faith said, her voice wavering slightly as she tried to keep herself collected and calm. "These things happen. Didn't mean anything."

"I don't want this to come between us," Buffy said quietly. "We're finally friends, we haven't tried to kill each other lately, and I don't want that to change."

"Not gonna change anything, B. We'll just go back to being the way we were before this happened, deal?"

"It's not that easy."

"Sure it is," Faith chuckled. "Just stop thinking about it, that's all. We got other shit on our plate right now and I'm thinkin' it's more important than what happened between us earlier. Let's deal with these Neqa'el demons, find out what they want, what they're doing here, and find a way to take them out without getting ourselves killed in the process."

"Uh guys?" Willow said as she rounded the corner and cleared her throat. "I think I've found something."

"What'd you find?" Buffy asked calmly, taking one last drag of her cigarette before she tossed it out the window.

"Were you just smoking?"

"Wills, what did you find?" Buffy asked, ignoring her obvious question.

"I don't want the girls to know just yet, but I think I found out why the Neqa'el have been sent here," she said quietly and she motioned to Buffy and Faith to follow her over to the small desk a few feet away. She placed the heavy book she was carrying on the desk and turned to face them. "I know we never bring religion into the mix, we all know it never plays a part in what we face, but this time it's different. The Neqa'el _are_ fallen angels, but not the kind of angels you think about when you think of Heaven and all that. They have wings, but they aren't white and they aren't pretty and delicate. They are also very violent.

"This book, it's one of the first of its kind. It's older than the bible itself, but there are a few things written in it that mirror passages in the bible," Willow said and she took a deep breath as she flipped through a couple of pages and stopped on an illustration. "This is Neqa'el. They come across as very human, aside from their wings. According to this passage," she said as she flipped to the next page. "The Neqa'el are only sent down here to the mortal plane when things need to be taken care of to create a balance."

"A balance between what?" Buffy asked.

"Good and evil. But they are also banished to the mortal plane, so until we find out just what they are doing here, we won't know _why_ they are actually here."

"Does that book tell you anything else about them?" Buffy asked her as she moved to look over the passage clearly written in another language. "Does it say what they do if they _are_ sent here to create a balance?"

"They wipe out the good, or the evil, depending on what tips the scale more. Buffy, I think they might be here to destroy the good."

"Which means us," Faith muttered and she shrugged when they looked over at her with slight shock and confusion in their eyes. "Think about it. In the fourteen or so months since we defeated the First evil and turned all the potentials into slayers, there haven't been any major apocalypses and the vampire and demon activity all around the world has become less of a threat than it has been before. They could be here to take us out, restore the old balance that was there before there were what, fifteen hundred of us?"

"And you think that they're here in Scotland, coincidently in the caves a few miles from here, because this is Headquarters for the Slayer Organization?" Buffy asked her and Faith nodded.

"But it's not a coincidence, B. Something tells me that this has all been planned."

"By who or what?"

"By the Powers that Be?" Faith shrugged. "Fuckers always mess with us. Wouldn't surprise me if they were behind this mess and the reason that the Neqa'el are here. Something tells me that they ain't too happy with thousands of us now when there was only ever supposed to be one."

"We need to talk to Giles," Willow said quietly as she grabbed the book. "If the Powers that Be have a hand in this, we're in big trouble."

"You two go find Giles and I'll go inform the girls not to go out to the caves until we figure this out," Buffy said and she quickly left Willow and Faith standing there between the stacks alone.

"Think we got an apocalypse on our hands?" Faith asked as she and Willow made their way through the seemingly endless stacks.

"I think so," Willow replied under her breath as she clutched the book to her chest. "All the signs point to yes so far."

"Scared?"

"Terrified," Willow nodded. "But it's not the first apocalypse we've been through and it won't be the last."

Faith didn't voice any more of her thoughts as they left the library and headed up to the second floor to Giles and Willow's office. Giles was behind his desk, talking quietly on the phone when they walked through the door. Faith took a seat on the plush brown leather sofa and listened to Giles as he spoke. He didn't say much and hung up quickly, removing his glasses and using a handkerchief to wipe them clean.

"I just got off the phone with London," he said as he looked at Willow and then over at Faith. "I'm afraid we've got a situation on our hands we're ill-equipped to deal with until we learn more."

"A _situation_? G, this is the beginning of a fucking apocalypse. A situation is undermining it," Faith said as she sat forward on the sofa. "What does London know?"

"I have a man coming early tomorrow morning with some texts that may help us further our knowledge about the Neqa'el and their purposes of being banished to the mortal plane."

"Tell us something we didn't already figure out on our own," Faith muttered and she motioned to Willow and the book she still held tight to her chest. "Show him what you showed us."

Willow placed the book on his cluttered desk and opened it to a passage near the middle. Giles read over it, muttering to himself as he silently read the words. Faith got up from the sofa, walked over to one of the four windows, and looked out. The rain was still coming down as hard as it had been when she'd woken up, but the thunder had long since died off and all she could hear was the roar of the rain as it came down in torrential waves. She looked back over at Giles as he leaned back in his leather chair and let out a heavy sigh.

"Good lord," he muttered as he picked up his cup of tea, taking a few sips before shaking his head in disbelief. "Has Buffy stopped the girls from going to the caves alone?"

"She's off doing that now," Willow replied. "What do you think is happening, Giles?"

"I can't be certain, but I do believe we are indeed facing the beginning of an inevitable apocalypse brought on by the Powers that Be. Or..." Giles trailed off, laughing at whatever thoughts were going through his mind. "Or this is the work of God, trying to restore a balance."

"God doesn't exist," Faith said as she crossed her arms over her chest.

"There is no proof whether God exists or not," Giles pointed out. "But as I learned when I was a young boy, watching my father being trained as a Watcher and learning about vampires and demons, I realized then that anything could exist in this world even if you cannot see it or feel it."

"Say there is a God, the same one written about in the bible," Faith said as she walked back over to the sofa and sat down. "Why would God allow vampires and demons to roam the earth as freely as they do? Don't you think He would've stopped them somehow?"

"I believe that He may have been lying dormant for centuries. The world is no longer under His control or in His hands. The world is a different place now, Faith, and if there is indeed a God, He's given up on us and He has sent the Neqa'el as a sign that times are changing and returning to the Old ways."

"Where do the Powers that Be come in if God does exist?" Willow asked quietly.

"Some say they once were his apprentices and are doing the work He no longer has a hand in. We may very well be wrong about this," Giles replied and he reached for the teapot and poured himself a fresh cup. "We'll know more when Percy Chapman comes tomorrow. In the meantime, patrol is being put on hold indefinitely until we know more of the Neqa'el and the reasons behind why they are here. Faith, I'll need you to inform Buffy and get the word around. I also do not want the younger girls to know about this situation until we know more."

"Gotcha, G. On it," Faith said as she got to her feet and headed for the door.

Faith wandered around the castle looking for Buffy, unable to find her anywhere. She wasn't even in her room and Faith groaned loudly in annoyance and headed to her own room. She grew slightly alarmed when she found the door open a couple of inches. Nobody ever went in her room and the door was always closed. She inched her way towards the door quietly and peered in, the sight before her shocking her.

"B? What the hell are you doing?" Faith asked as she nudged open the door and leaned against the frame. Buffy was sorting through her clothes, four piles now on the floor. "Buffy?"

"I'm cleaning your room," Buffy replied causally. "I honestly don't know how you can live like this and it's been bugging me since last night."

"So ya just took it upon yourself to come in here and start cleaning up my shit for me?"

"Uh huh," Buffy smirked as she bent down to pick up the last of the clothes and put them in the proper colour appropriate piles. "I thought as punishment for Hayley, I'd make her do your laundry."

"B, all she did was sneak out one night. Don't think she deserves to be punished for wanting to get drunk and act like every other normal seventeen year old girl."

"We have rules in place for a reason, Faith. She broke them and she needs to learn a lesson. Did you and Willow talk to Giles?"

"Yeah," Faith nodded as she made her way over to her bed that had been stripped of her sheets and sat down. "He's got some guy coming from London tomorrow morning with some books that'll give us more of an idea of what the Neqa'el are and what they might be doing here. He also called off patrol indefinitely until we find out more."

"I've already asked Xander to put out word that there will be no patrol until further notice," Buffy said and she got on her hands and knees and reached under the bed for the towels Faith had kicked under there. "Faith!" Buffy squeaked as she jumped to her feet. "Why do you have a vibrator under the bed?"

Faith laughed as Buffy blushed and took a few steps back away from the bed. She reached down and pulled out the small, slender vibrator from under the bed. "Shit, that's where it went," she chuckled and winked at Buffy as she put the vibrator in the nightstand drawer. "What's the big deal, B? Ain't ever seen one before?"

Buffy didn't say anything; she only glared at Faith and walked into the bathroom to get the clothes out of there. Faith smirked to herself as she lay back on the bed. At least Buffy hadn't found her box of toys or her stash of porn DVD's and magazines. Those were locked in the chest at the foot of her bed, the key hidden behind the picture of a sunset hanging in the bathroom.

There was nothing quite like a light-hearted moment that made things a little easier to handle when it came to the Neqa'el. She turned to look at Buffy as she walked out the bathroom with a handful of clothes and watched as Buffy rolled her eyes as she sorted through them. Buffy grumbled to herself as she started putting each pile into the sacks they normally used to take dirty laundry down to the laundry room. She blew Buffy a kiss and winked as she dragged the sacks of clothes to the door. Buffy flipped her off before she slammed the door behind her.


	4. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three**

By the time Buffy returned to Faith's room after getting Hayley started on the laundry, Faith was gone. Buffy groaned in annoyance as she gathered the dirty dishes from the desk and dresser, piling them in the bus bin she'd brought up from the kitchen. She didn't know why she took it upon herself to clean the mess in Faith's room, but she knew it was keeping her mind off the looming apocalypse and the kiss they'd shared earlier down in the training room.

"Buffy?" Dawn stood in the doorway, watching her. "What are you doing?"

"Cleaning."

"But this is Faith's room. Why would you be cleaning her room for her?"

"Because it was disgusting and I need to keep my mind off of what's happening right now."

"You mean with the Neqa'el?"

Buffy nodded. "Can you take these down to the kitchen for me?" She asked as she motioned to the bus bin full of dishes.

"What's up with you?" Dawn asked, ignoring the bin full of dishes. "You're becoming obsessive-compulsive Buffy again, aren't you?"

"No! When was I ever obsessive-compulsive before?"

"When we first came here, you were being completely anal about the way things were with the girls, with starting up the Organization, and then with Faith always being right there..." Dawn trailed off and laughed at Buffy's oblivious look. "Something happened, didn't it? And I'm not talking about this whole deal with the Neqa'el either. Something happened between you and Faith and don't lie to me."

_Has she always been so observant?_ Buffy wondered to herself as she grabbed the broom leaning up against the wall by the door. "Nothing happened," Buffy said after a moment. "We've just been talking about this looming apocalypse and as scary as it is, she's right about some of the things she's been saying."

"I can smell bullshit a mile away and don't ever forget that. So," Dawn said as she grabbed the broom from Buffy. "Tell me what happened. Are you guys fighting again?"

"No," Buffy sighed. "We're not fighting again. It's nothing, Dawn. Don't worry about it. I'm just feeling a little stressed over the whole Neqa'el situation because we don't know enough right now. Could you just bring those down to the kitchen for me?"

Dawn grabbed the bin of dishes and rolled her eyes. "I know something is going on with you and I'm gonna figure it out sooner or later, but I'd rather you just be honest with me."

"Dawn..." Buffy glared at her, definitely not in the mood to be dealing with a nosey, overly observant bratty little sister.

"What's the magic word?"

"I'll cut off your credit card for a month!"

Dawn pouted and carried the bus bin of dishes with her as she left the room. Buffy flipped on the stereo, the last CD Faith had played blaring over the speakers. She let the music fill her, take her over despite it not being the type of music she liked, and she went nuts with sweeping the floor, dancing along to the heavy metal music, completely oblivious to the younger slayers that started to gather in the hallway watching her.

* * *

Faith sat in the chair next to Kennedy and Willow's bed, faintly hearing Iron Maiden being played on the other end of the castle. Kennedy smirked as she rolled up the magazine she'd been reading and smacked Faith's arm.

"So you kissed Buffy?" Kennedy asked, grinning when Faith rolled her eyes and slouched down further in the chair. "And now she's cleaning your room for you?"

"Yep," Faith sighed. "I think she's going crazy."

"Or she's just being Buffy and trying to avoid the whole issue with you two getting with the smoochies on top of the shit with the Neqa'el."

"Could be," she replied with a lazy shrug. "Hey, she wants to go clean crazy on my room, I ain't gonna stop her, you know what I'm sayin'?"

"Do you want to kiss her again?"

"Shit, Ken. Can we drop this?"

"_You're_ the one who came in here telling me every last detail. Like hell I'm gonna drop this. I want to know what you're feeling right now."

"Confused mostly."

"You want to fuck her, don't you?"

"The thought has crossed my mind once or twice," Faith admitted easily. "And if you dare tell anyone, I'll beat you worse than the Neqa'el did, Ken," she warned her with a glare. "I'm serious."

"So you _do_ want to fuck her? Interesting."

Faith kicked the side of the bed, still glaring, but struggling to bite back the laughter that was escaping. Kennedy, despite being as beaten as she was, was still herself. If it hadn't been for her fast friendship with Kennedy as soon as they'd arrived in Scotland, Faith knew she wouldn't have stuck around as long as she had.

"I don't want to fuck her, Ken. Just had a few fleeting thoughts about it, that's all. Not like I'd ever get the chance. It's _Buffy_ for fucks sake. She doesn't swing that way."

"She kissed you back," Kennedy pointed out. "Obviously you don't know her as well as you think you do. I find it funny though, you know how alike you two really are when you break it down. You both keep yourselves closed off to everyone around you."

"Except you. You know me better than I know myself," Faith laughed as she blocked the blow from the magazine with ease and grabbed it out of Kennedy's hand. "She wants to talk about it."

"And?"

"I ain't in no mood to talk about it with her right now."

"You're afraid of what she's gonna say, aren't you?" Kennedy asked and Faith shrugged. "You are. I bet you're thinking one of two things right now. One, she'll say it was a mistake and that it'll never happen again. Two, she'll tell you she wants you and that alone scares the shit out of you because it's _Buffy_ and you're convinced you don't have a chance in hell with her."

"I ain't good enough for her, Ken," Faith sighed dejectedly. "I'll only ever been good enough to be her friend, if that."

"You really don't see it, do you? You're one of her best friends now, Faith. If you're good enough to be one of her best friends, you're definitely good enough to be something more."

"Don't do the relationship thing," Faith muttered as she averted her eyes away from Kennedy's hard stare.

"Or won't because you're a pussy?"

"If you weren't hurt I'd kick your ass for that!" Faith chuckled and kicked the edge of the bed again. "Tell me a little more about these Neqa'el. What'd they look like?"

"It was dark in the caves so I didn't get a good look at them. One of them punched me and it felt like I was hit by a wrecking ball. They got this smell to them too," Kennedy said and she furrowed her brow as if she was trying to remember all the details. "You know how most demons got this putrid stench? Well the Neqa'el kind of smell like...wet dog."

They both erupted in laughter as Willow walked into the room. She sat on the other side of the bed next to Kennedy, smiling as their laughter slowly died off.

"What's so funny?" Willow asked as she leaned in to kiss Kennedy gently on the cheek. "Guys, what's so funny?"

"Ken said the Neqa'el smell like wet dog."

"That's funny? Okay..." Willow raised an eyebrow at the two of them and shook her head. "Faith, you know that Buffy is cleaning your room right now?"

"Yep."

"And you're letting her?"

"Why not?" She said with a shrug. "Ain't like I was ever gonna do it myself. Did you find out anything more about the Neqa'el?"

"No, nothing more than what we already know. We'll have to wait until Percy Chapman comes in the morning."

"Another tweed?" Kennedy asked, rolling her eyes and making a gagging motion.

"He's not really a Watcher. He's head of the research department at the Watcher's Council."

"Still another tweed if you ask me."

Faith got up to leave when Willow and Kennedy started looking a little too cozy, sharing small little kisses and looks that told her they wanted some alone time. She made her way down the long corridor, finding a group of girls hanging outside her bedroom door. She stepped past a few of them and looked inside, laughing when she saw Buffy dancing along to the music as she swept the floor. Faith shooed the girls away, glaring at them until they scattered in two directions, half heading for the dorms in the west wing, the other half heading down the stairs.

Her talk with Kennedy about Buffy had put new thoughts into her head, thoughts she didn't need or want, but they were there now and there was no way they were getting out any time soon either. She stepped into the room and quietly shut the door behind her, Buffy completely oblivious to her presence. She leaned back against the door and crossed her arms over her chest, smirking as she watched Buffy try to move to the music, dancing along with the broom in her hand.

"Faith!" Buffy yelped when she spun around. "How long have you been standing there?"

"A minute or so," she chuckled, watching as Buffy blushed and turned the stereo off. "Nice moves, B. Good to see you ain't lost your ability to dance."

"Shut up."

"You almost done?"

"Yeah," Buffy nodded. "Why?"

"You know I don't like anyone being in here. It's my room, my sanctuary and you've invaded it."

"You're impossible sometimes, you know that? I try to do something nice for you and you don't even thank me!"

"I never asked you to come in here and go fuckin' nuts with the cleaning, B. I liked my room the way it was before perfectly fine."

Buffy dropped the broom to the ground, giving up and she stalked towards the door. "Move," she said through clenched teeth. "You want me out? I'll go."

"By all means," Faith said as she opened the door for Buffy and moved out of the way. "Thanks though, B. I mean it. You didn't have to do this for me."

"All I was trying to do was do you a favour and get my mind off of what's going on right now."

"I know," Faith said with a frown and she grabbed a flustered Buffy before she could walk out. She wrapped her arms around her in a tight hug and after a moment or two, she felt Buffy relax in her arms. "You're worried that this sitch with the Neqa'el is gonna end badly, aren't ya?"

"Yeah," Buffy nodded, sighing as she wrapped her arms around Faith. "This is nice."

"What, this?" Faith asked, moving back a little from their embrace. "Yeah it is, isn't it?"

"How come you've never...hugged me before?"

"Not a very comforting type or touchy-feely chick here, B. Thought you figured that out before?"

"You want to know what I think?" Buffy asked as she stepped out of the embrace. "I think there are a lot of things about you that you haven't figured out yet. I think you aren't quite the way you make yourself out to be."

"What makes you think that?"

"Little things," Buffy replied with a shrug and she closed the door when a couple of the girls that had been standing out there before walked by. "Don't get me wrong, you're still you, Faith, but sometimes I wonder if you keep yourself from really being _you_. Do you understand what I'm getting at?"

"Not really."

"Forget it," Buffy sighed. "It's too complicated to try to explain what I'm getting at right now."

"Whatever, B. Don't get how me giving you a hug made you spin off into telling me I ain't who I am," Faith said with a light chuckle. "You read too much into shit sometimes, you know that?"

Buffy laughed and picked the broom back up from the floor. The moment felt a little awkward for both of them, but they'd had a lot of awkward moments since they found a common ground to form a friendship on. Faith left the room, not wanting to stick around in case Buffy tried to talk to her about what happened between them earlier. She'd barely even closed the door behind her when the alarm went off for the second time.

They both ran down to the control room and found Xander staring at the monitors in alarm. He pointed out to the one on the far left. The camera was aimed to the east side of the castle. Even in the torrential downpour and poor signal coming from the camera, they could make out a few of the younger slayers in the middle of a fight against at least seven Neqa'el demons.

"What are they doing out there?" Buffy asked nobody in particular. "I thought everyone got word that no one was to leave the castle?"

"Word got out, but those girls had already left," Xander said as calmly as he could and stopped Buffy when she turned to leave. "Don't, Buff. It's too dangerous."

"I am not about to stand here and watch them get hurt or killed!"

"B," Faith said softly as she grabbed onto her. "Don't. We can't put our lives at risk."

"Let go of me!" Buffy snapped. "Faith, I'm going to ask you one more time. Let go of me. Now. I'm not standing here watching those girls fight them alone!"

"Xander, keep the others from coming in here," Faith said quickly. "If anything happens to those girls, I don't want the others seeing this."

"Faith, let me go," Buffy said angrily as she struggled against the ironclad grip Faith had her in.

Xander rushed to lock the door to the control room before any of the others could come in. Faith kept her eyes on the monitor, watching as the Neqa'el easily took out the four girls that had been struggling to hold their own against them. Faith had to use all her strength to hold Buffy where she was and she didn't let go even when Buffy stopped struggling against her and let out a choked sob as they watched the last of their girls fall to the ground, unmoving. They watched as the Neqa'el circled the fallen slayers for a moment before they spread their wings and flew off, disappearing out of the camera range within seconds.

"That was freaky," Andrew muttered from his desk, looking rather pale. "Who knew they could fly?"

"They got fucking wings, dumbass," Faith muttered as she let go of Buffy. "Of course they can fucking fly."

"Oh," Andrew frowned. "Right."

"We need to get out there," Buffy said shakily, not taking her eyes off the monitor. "They could still be okay."

"Buffy," Xander said softly as he approached her. "They're dead."

"We can't just leave them out there!"

"It's not safe. Just because we can't see them doesn't mean they aren't out there. We need to wait this out."

"We need to-"

"No," Xander said firmly as he stood tall, never being one to back down from standing up against Buffy. "We don't need to do anything right now other than stay right here where we are. They won't come in here."

"They aren't vampires," Faith said as she turned to look at them. "They don't need an invitation to get in here. They can come in here as they please."

"I'll call Wills, get her to do a protection barrier around the castle," he replied as he pulled a cell phone out of his back pocket and made the call.

"B?" Faith said gently as she reached out and placed her hand on Buffy's shoulder. "Come on, we can't help them now. The only thing we can do is try to figure out a way to keep us all safe until we know more about the Neqa'el and how we can fight them."

Faith caught Buffy quickly wiping away the few tears that had fallen. Buffy couldn't hold herself together and Faith barely was able to herself, but she stayed strong, fighting off her own emotions over their fallen slayers for the sake of holding things together for both her and Buffy.

"We need to call another meeting," Buffy said quietly. "We can't wait until we know more. Reading books is not going to help us this time."

"Maybe not, but we're not going in blind, B. What we just saw, watching how they fight, isn't much to go by."

"It's better than nothing," Buffy countered and she moved to the intercom. "I want everyone down in the control room in five minutes. We have another situation on our hands," Buffy said as she spoke into the microphone. She let go of the button and turned to Xander. "Does Willow have the barrier spell covered?"

"Working on it as we speak," he replied with a nod. "What's the game plan, Buff?"

"We're going to set everyone up in teams, like we'd planned for earlier. We're going out to the caves in an hour."

Faith sighed. She knew Buffy's plan was going to land them into trouble they wouldn't all walk away from especially after watching the quick fight between the fallen slayers and the Neqa'el. As all the girls began to arrive in the control room, Faith walked over to the armoury and began to pass out the weapons one by one. Xander walked over to where she stood in the doorway to the armoury and pulled her aside.

"You need to stop her from doing this, Faith."

"Would if I could, Xand," she sighed and grabbed a long sword and checked it out. "You know when Buffy gets a plan in her head, ain't no talking her out of it even if we're walking straight to our death."

"At least try to stop her from doing this until tomorrow," he said under his breath as Buffy walked into the armoury and grabbed her favourite sword, one almost identical to the one Faith held in her hand. Buffy ignored the two of them as she walked back out and Xander took a step closer to Faith. "I've got a tranq gun in my desk. We'll tranq her and tie her up-"

"Xander, we can't do that!"

"Yeah, we can and we will," he said firmly. "I can't let her lead you all out there when we pretty much have no idea how to fight these things. That man Giles called up is coming from London early in the morning. We gotta wait until we know more, Faith, and we gotta make Buffy see that."

"Get the gun and I'll get you a clear shot. Whatever you do, Xand, don't fucking shoot me."

"I'm a sure shot and you know it."

Faith strutted out of the armoury and over to where Buffy was standing by the monitors. She looked at them with her, not seeing a single thing on the cameras outside. The rain hadn't let up at all and the sky was darkening quickly. Buffy turned to Faith with a sigh and glanced back at the girls gathered behind them.

"You ready, Faith?"

"Sure."

"Andrew is printing off a couple copies of the maps we made of those caves a few months ago. You have your own team. You'll be going in after I head in with mine."

"Sorry, B," Faith said as she saw Xander take the tranq gun out of his desk.

"Sorry?"

"Sorry, but this plan of yours? Ain't happening today," she said as she grabbed Buffy by the shoulders and quickly turned her so Xander had a clear shot. He took the shot, two darts hitting Buffy in the back of her thigh and her left butt cheek. She stumbled forward, dropping her sword as Faith dropped hers and caught her before she could collapse on to the floor. "Nice shot, Xand."

"Told ya I was a sure shot," he grinned as he put the gun back into his desk and cleared his throat. "Ladies, the plan to go out there and take out the Neqa'el is not happening today. Buffy couldn't see the danger of going out there before we have any viable information. We'll have a meeting tomorrow morning as soon as we gather more information on how to defeat these things. For now, I want you all to go about the rest of your day and remember that there is no patrol tonight for anyone."

A chorus of groans erupted throughout the room as the girls brought their weapons back to the armoury and left the control room. Faith scooped an unconscious Buffy up in her arms.

"Take her to her room and tie her to the bed," he said as he grabbed a coil of magic rope and handed it to her. "I'll brief Giles on what's been happening and for the love of God, Faith, make sure she's bound tightly. We can't have her getting loose until we can convince her that her plan won't work."

Faith carried Buffy to the elevator on the other end of the floor, hoping the tranq's would hold out long enough for her to get Buffy tied to her bed. She ignored the look Dawn gave her as she stepped into the elevator and hit the button with her knee. Faith wasted no time as soon as they were on the third floor, kicking open the door to Buffy's room and tossing her on the bed. She bound her hands to the thick wooden headboard and then wrapped the rest of the magic rope around her legs.

"I tell ya, B, so not how I thought I'd get ya into bed," she chuckled to herself as she checked the rope to make sure Buffy was bound tightly. "You're gonna be pissed as hell when you come to, but I won't have to worry about you kicking my ass. At least not until I get you outta this."

She stepped back to admire her work, ignoring the thoughts and memories in her head of the last time she'd tied anyone up. Wesley. Pushing those thoughts aside, she wandered around Buffy's room, this having been only the second time she'd been in there. It was completely spotless, everything in there seemingly having its place, which didn't surprise Faith at all. The rounded corner in the room had dozens of plush oversized pillows, mostly white and pink with a few purple mixed in. Faith flopped down on the pillows, smirking as she leaned her head back and closed her eyes.

She didn't like having to do what they had to do to stop Buffy from doing something stupid, but it was the only way until they knew more about the Neqa'el and how to fight them without getting themselves killed in the process. She got up from the pillow-filled seating area and wandered around Buffy's room. She had a few weapons lined on the shelves and the scythe in a glass case that Willow had cast a spell on so it couldn't be tampered with. Even separated from it by the glass and the spell, Faith could feel the power still emanating from the scythe. She wondered if they could use it on the Neqa'el and made a mental note to bring it up during the meeting in the morning.

Buffy groaned softly and Faith spun around to look at her. She looked as if she was coming to, but she shouldn't have been since Faith knew two of those tranq's should have kept her out for at least two hours. She cautiously approached the bed as Buffy opened her heavy-lidded eyes.

"What the hell is going on? Why am I tied to my bed?" Buffy asked groggily as she struggled against the rope. "Faith? Answer me!"

"Couldn't let you do it, B."

"Untie me. Right now."

"No. You're so fucking stubborn, Buffy. I know you want to get them, take 'em out, but we gotta wait. I am not letting any of us put our lives on the line."

"Four of our girls just died out there, Faith!"

"I know, I fucking saw it too, Buffy! You need to calm the fuck down and realize that your plan would've gotten more of us killed! I want to take 'em out as much as you do, put a stop to this before it gets outta hand, but we can't jump in there like this. We need to know more."

"I can't just stand down-"

"Ain't got a choice right now," Faith snapped, clenching her fists at her side. "God, this has been the longest fucking day of my life."

"Tell me about it," Buffy muttered and she started to struggle against the ropes. "Can you untie me now?"

"No. I know exactly what you're gonna do once I untie ya, B."

"I promise I won't kick your ass...hard."

Faith rolled her eyes, grabbed the chair from the desk, and sat down. Buffy laid there and glared at Faith, but she didn't say anything more to her. Faith picked up the weapons catalogue from Buffy's nightstand and began to flip through it, ignoring the death glare from Buffy that almost made her skin crawl.


	5. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four**

Faith was the first awake in the kitchen, but unknown to the others as they started to come down to start their day, she hadn't slept all night. She'd spent a good portion of the night sitting at Buffy's bedside, making sure she didn't try to escape from her bounds. Once she was convinced Buffy had given up and fallen asleep, she went to the main training room and ran on the treadmill until her legs felt like jello and her lungs felt as if they were about to burst.

She found her clothes-all of them-clean and folded and on her bed when she'd gone to her room to shower. For the first time in a long time, she caked on her eyeliner after she'd showered, but she left the rest of the old Faith mask off. Times had changed, she'd changed, and a lot of her old self had been left behind. It was like that with all of them since they'd come to Scotland; they'd all grown into being someone else, maybe not entirely, but looking back at who they'd all been before, one could see the subtle little changes they'd all gone through.

Faith made herself a cup of coffee and one for Buffy, slipping out of the kitchen as the younger girls began to file in, most of them still half-asleep and complaining about the shitty weather outside. Faith took the elevator up to the third floor and she entered Buffy's room quietly, not surprised in the least to find Buffy awake and struggling to get her hands free.

"Can you untie me now?" Buffy asked, clearly annoyed as Faith set both mugs down on the nightstand.

"Morning to you too, B," Faith said with a grin and she pulled the chair up beside her bed and sat down. "Sleep well?"

"No. Untie me. Now."

"What's the magic word?"

"I'll kick your ass so hard you won't be able to sit down for a month."

"Promises, promises," Faith chuckled and she reached for Buffy's right hand and untied it. She handed Buffy her mug of coffee and sat back on the chair, unable to wipe the grin off her face.

"I'm not going to run off if you untie me completely, Faith."

"Then you realize now we need more to go on before we go storming into the Neqa'el nest and try to take 'em out?" Faith asked. Buffy nodded her head slowly. "I want to as much as you do, B. I don't want those girls to have died for nothing without taking 'em out and making 'em pay for what they did, but I'm not gonna let you or anyone else put their lives on the line."

Buffy sighed. "I know. I wasn't thinking. I just want to deal with this," she said, pausing to take a sip of her coffee. "We've never faced anything like this before."

"Always a first for everything, B."

"Like with us?"

"Still thinking 'bout that, huh?" Faith chuckled softly and the blush that crept over Buffy's cheeks was unmistakeable. "Musta been some kiss if you're still thinking 'bout it."

"It's because it was with _you_, Faith."

"Is there something wrong with me?"

"No! I mean, yes-Faith-"

Buffy was clearly flustered and Faith was enjoying every second of it. Faith moved to the other side of the bed to untie Buffy's other hand. Her knots were tight and even she could barely get the ones undone on the rope around Buffy's ankles. Convinced that Buffy wouldn't bolt, she walked back around to the chair and sat down, smiling smugly at Buffy as she picked her mug of coffee up from the nightstand.

"Told you I wouldn't run off," Buffy muttered as she rubbed her left shoulder. "You don't have to stay there. I kind of need to have a shower."

"Don't let me stop you."

"Faith, get out of my room."

"No."

"I'm not going to run off after the Neqa'el myself. Don't you trust me?"

"Normally I do, but right now? No," Faith said as she kicked off her boots and propped her feet up on the edge of Buffy's bed.

She watched her, sipping her coffee as she walked to her closet, pulled out some clean clothes, and grabbed a clean bra and underwear out of the nightstand drawer. With a huff, Buffy disappeared into the bathroom, slamming the door shut behind her before the lock clicked shut. She sat there sipping her coffee for the entire fifteen minutes it took for Buffy to shower, dress, and come out of the bathroom, towel in hand, hair still dripping wet.

Faith stood up, motioning to the clock that it was about time for them to head to Giles and Willow's office for the meeting with Percy Chapman. That is if he had arrived from London. Buffy only rolled her eyes, tossed her wet towel on to the hamper by the closet door, and walked over to her dresser to pick up her brush. Faith couldn't take her eyes off of Buffy as she watched her quickly brush her hair and put it back in a loose ponytail. Buffy wasn't nearly as skinny as she had been back in Sunnydale. Being in Scotland had been good for her.

"What are you doing?"

"Checkin' you out, what does it look like?"

Buffy rolled her eyes, but Faith caught the small smile that slipped over her lips as Buffy walked past her towards the door. Faith moved quickly to follow her and they crashed into each other when Buffy suddenly stopped at the door and turned to face her.

"Don't undermine me anymore," Buffy said quietly, not moving away from her. "I hate it when you do that."

"Do it for your own good sometimes, B."

"We still need to talk about what's going on between us."

"And what _is_ going on between us?" Faith asked, staring down into Buffy's eyes and searching for the answers she wasn't so sure she'd ever find. "Still hung up on us makin' out yesterday, are ya?"

"Why'd you kiss me?" Buffy whispered, her voice cracking slightly as Faith gently placed her hands on Buffy's hips. "It was more than just a heat of the moment thing, wasn't it?"

"Dunno," Faith shrugged. "Don't know why you're making such a big deal outta it either. You want to know what I think, B?"

"What?"

"I think you're making a big deal outta it 'cause you wanna do it again."

"So sure of yourself, aren't you?" Buffy laughed quietly, her hands slowly gliding up Faith's arms, leaving a trail of goosebumps in their wake.

"Of course I am, B."

"Then what are you waiting for, F?" Buffy whispered, their lips now only a hairsbreadth away. "Make the first move. Kiss me. Prove to me I want to do it again."

Faith inhaled deeply, feeling the heat between them grow as she pressed her lips softly against Buffy's. Everything about the kiss was slow and sweet, and Faith's head was spinning as Buffy slid her hands to the back of her neck and pulled her impossibly closer. It was the opposite of just how Faith was when it came to things like this, but she let Buffy take the lead, let Buffy be in control and let Buffy take it as far as she wanted to, not wanting a repeat of yesterday morning with her wandering hands she couldn't quite control.

Buffy moaned as she sucked on Faith's lower lip before trailing her tongue along it until Faith parted her lips and found her mouth suddenly invaded by Buffy's eager tongue. There was a hum of electricity crackling between them and it took everything Faith had in her to keep her hands firmly on Buffy's hips as their lips and tongues duelled for dominance over one another.

"Mmm, why do you have to be so good at that?" Buffy moaned quietly, breaking away from the kiss, but not moving away from Faith. Faith surprised even herself when she stopped Buffy from leaning in for another kiss.

"We should get to Giles and Willow's office. Tweed might be here by now."

"Right," Buffy sighed as she dropped her hands from the back of Faith's neck and took a step back.

"So uh," Faith stammered, suddenly feeling nervous, her head still clouded and her body still buzzing from the kiss. "We're gonna talk about this later?"

"Now you want to talk about this?"

"Well, yeah. I mean, friends just don't go around kissing each other, right?"

"Right," Buffy said softly as she reached for the handle on the door. "Wait," Buffy said as she stopped Faith from moving and let go of the handle. "I need to know something right now."

"Which is what, B?"

"What are you feeling?"

"About what?"

"Me? Us..." Buffy trailed off as she cast her eyes to the floor.

"There's an "us" now?" Faith asked, raising an eyebrow when Buffy looked back up at her. "I don't know what I'm feeling right now, B. All I know is I've never felt this way before."

"Scary isn't it?"

"Oh yeah," Faith nodded in agreement and they both laughed as the tension between them diminished slightly. "Doesn't have to be so scary though when ya think about it."

"No?"

"Nope," Faith said with a smile and wrapped her arms around Buffy's waist to pull her close again. "We'll figure it out. It's what we do now, right? We'll work together to figure it out. Let's go talk to Tweed and go from there and leave this-us-for later."

"We could spare five minutes, right?" Buffy asked quietly, a small smile tugging at the corner of her lips as Faith wiggled her eyebrows and backed her up against the door.

"Buffy?" Willow's voice sounded over the small intercom beside the door. "Buffy, I know you're in there. You need to find Faith and come to the office right now. Percy Chapman has just arrived."

"Damn if she doesn't sound like a principal or something," Faith muttered under her breath as she let go of Buffy with a heavy sigh. "Duty calls, B."

"Yeah," Buffy sighed out softly and she grabbed onto Faith and planted a quick kiss on her lips. "We're talking about this after we have the meeting."

Faith moved in to kiss her again, the kiss a polar opposite of the one Buffy had just given her. It wasn't soft and sweet. It was hot, heavy, and it left Buffy gripping on to Faith's shoulders as she lifted her leg around Faith's thigh. Faith stopped the kiss from going any further, leaving Buffy breathless when she pulled away. She smirked as she reached for the handle and waited for Buffy to move away from the door before she opened it.

"We're definitely talking about this later," Buffy said under her breath, following Faith out into the corridor and they headed around the corner to the stairs.

* * *

Percy Chapman paced the floor in front of the desk while Giles read over the heavy and old book he'd brought along with him. Faith stood on the opposite side of the room from the others, leaning against the windowsill as she chain-smoked. Percy Chapman, as Faith had muttered to Buffy when they'd walked into the office, looked like a much younger version of Giles. If Faith didn't know any better, she'd think he was Giles' legitimate love child from his Ripper days.

"I suppose this is no help," Percy said as he removed his glasses and began to furiously wipe them with the hem of his un-tucked white shirt. "It is all I could find in the library back in London."

"It'll be enough," Giles replied without looking up from the book. "It tells us they match in strength and agility to that of a slayer, that they each possess a gift of sorts."

"Like a magical gift?" Willow asked curiously. "Or other gifts?"

"It's not specific, but I would imagine that yes, some do possess the gift of magic," Giles replied with a nod, still not looking up from the book as he flipped the page carefully. "Ah, here it is," he muttered and he cleared his throat as he looked up at the others around the room. "The Neqa'el are surprisingly very human when they are banished to the mortal plane."

"So, that means we can kill 'em pretty easily then, right?" Faith asked. "Or we can't kill 'em 'cause they _are_ pretty much human?"

"They may appear to be human, but they are not."

"This goes beyond anything I've ever been trained for," Percy said as he slipped his glasses back on. "Never have I imagined God would be a part of anything we do. You know the others laughed at me when I told them we have a situation with fallen angels here in Scotland."

"It says here," Giles continued, ignoring Percy completely, "that there are only two ways to kill the Neqa'el. One is by decapitation and the other is to push them into the portal through which they have come here, given the fact that the portal is indeed still there."

"Seems easy enough," Faith shrugged. "Go in with swords and the like, take off their heads, done."

"You've seen them fight," Buffy said from where she sat on the sofa next to Xander and Dawn. "It's not going to be easy. They're quick."

"So are we."

"Explain how those girls _died_, Faith!"

"They weren't quick enough. Shit happens, B. They got unlucky. Don't beat yourself up over it. We couldn't do anything then and we can't do anything now."

"We will need to track them," Giles said firmly as he stood up from behind his desk. "They're nesting in the caves. That much we know. According to this, they'll stay close to the portal while their brothers and sisters continue to...ahem, arrive here."

"There's going to be more of them?" Buffy asked, eyes wide as she gripped the edge of the sofa with both hands. "How many can be sent here at a time?"

"For every Neqa'el that perishes, one will take its place unless the portal is closed. Willow, I'll need you to find out as much as you can about this portal and how to close it. The sooner we get this done, the sooner we can end this," Giles said quickly. "Buffy, I'll need you to assemble four teams to go out and track the Neqa'el. If you find yourselves in a fight, do not fight back. Retreat."

"Right because for every one we kill, another will come in its place. Giles, we're gonna fight them. We're not going to run away!"

"Buffy-"

"Giles? Shut up," she snapped and she turned to look at Willow. "Find out about this portal and find out how to close it. Faith, come with me. We're going to get our teams. Kennedy should be healed enough to come with us. I'll find Satsu and we'll gather the best girls we have. And Xander?"

"Yes?" Xander squeaked.

"Do _not_ shoot me with tranq's ever again."

"Sorry," Xander frowned and he nervously fidgeted with his eye patch. "Not gonna happen again."

"Faith?"

Faith tossed her cigarette out the window and followed Buffy out of the office. Neither said a word as they went their separate ways. Faith headed for the back stairs, knowing damn well that Kennedy would still be in bed sleeping. Faith tried the door, finding it locked and she started pounding on the door.

"Ken, get your lazy ass outta bed!" Faith shouted through the door. She stopped pounding and listened, but with the doors as thick as they were, it was hard to hear much of anything from inside the room.

"What the hell?" Kennedy muttered when she finally unlocked the door and jerked it open angrily.

"Get dressed," Faith said. "We're gathering teams up right now and heading out to the caves."

"Now?"

"No, tomorrow. For fucks sake, Ken, just get dressed?"

"I'm supposed to be coming?"

"You're healed, aren't ya?"

"Yeah, but-"

"You're heading up your own team. We're going down to the caves to track the Neqa'el."

"Yesterday you guys shot Buffy with a tranq gun and tied her to her bed to keep her from going after them and today..." Kennedy shook her head as she walked away from the door. "What gives? Did the new Tweed give you guys information that you needed?"

"Little bit," Faith replied and she leaned against the doorframe, watching as Kennedy disappeared into the walk-in closet. "Shoulda been at that meeting, Ken."

"Didn't even know there was one. Willow never woke me up this morning. What do you know?"

"They come here by a portal. For every one we kill, another comes in its place."

"So what's the point in killing them if they're just gonna keep on coming?"

"Willow's gonna figure out a spell to close the portal. Once that happens, we sweep in, kill whatever ones are left standing and that's that."

"Seems easy enough," Kennedy said as she walked out of the closet fully dressed. "But I know it's not that easy. They're strong, almost too strong for us, and very quick. Those wings? Definitely not for show and they definitely use it to their advantage that they can fly."

"We'll get through this."

"Sure we will," Kennedy said and she paused to look at Faith for a moment. She smirked as she stared at Faith and she shook her head, laughing as she punched Faith in the shoulder. "You totally fucked her, didn't you?"

"I didn't fuck her," Faith sighed. "We just kissed. Again."

"And? Did you guys talk about what's going on between you two?"

"Not yet."

"Let me ask you something," Kennedy said quietly, pulling Faith into the room and shutting the door as a handful of girls walked by. "What do you think is going on between you and Buffy?"

"I know I've got feelings for her."

"But you've always had feelings for her."

"She doesn't know that," Faith replied.

"Are you in love with her?"

"No."

"You want to know what I think?"

"No, but you're gonna tell me anyway, ain't ya?" Faith chuckled uneasily.

"I think you _are_ in love with Buffy," Kennedy stated with a smug grin. "Don't try to convince me or yourself otherwise. And yes," she said, stopping Faith from trying to get a word in, "I know you don't do love, never been in love and all that, but you know what? That's bullshit, Faith. I think you do know what it's like to be in love with someone, someone named Buffy fucking Summers. You just don't know what it's like to be loved back."

"Since you're all wise and noble about the love thing, tell me what I should do about this then," Faith grumbled, hating when Kennedy put her in her place. "I can't just walk up to her and tell her I'm in love with her. Besides, right now we got other shit to deal with, the Neqa'el, and I don't think me telling Buffy I'm fucking in love with her is gonna help."

"I knew it."

"Shit," Faith sighed and she brought her hands up to her throbbing temples and closed her eyes. The realization, the admittance of it, hit her rather hard; she felt breathless, and her heart felt like it was trapped in a vice. "Don't tell anyone, Ken. Don't even tell Willow what we just talked about."

"My lips are sealed only until they aren't."

"Ken, you fucking told her last night, didn't you?"

"It's not my fault! We never keep secrets from each other, Faith!" Kennedy exclaimed, taking a few steps back from Faith. "She got it out of me. Shit," she sighed. "If it makes you feel any better, Wills' reaction to this? Pretty calm. In fact she was all, "about time" when I told her you two got with the smoochies yesterday."

"Who else knows?" Faith glared at her, knowing Kennedy wasn't telling her everything. "Ken, who else fucking knows about this?"

"Well, Wills said she actually knew about it before I told her. Seems like you two forgot there are cameras all over the castle, even in the training room."

Faith groaned loudly in annoyance and turned to walk out the room. She could barely wrap her head around what was happening between her and Buffy and now that the others knew, mostly just the ones closest to Buffy, it was a sure sign everything would go to shit sooner rather than later. She knew she couldn't focus on this issue when there were bigger things to worry about. They'd deal with what was going on between them in time. Right now they had to deal with the Neqa'el and put an end to them before things got bad.

* * *

Faith trailed behind the group as they walked through the fields and the forest that surrounded the castle. They had teams of four girls each. Sixteen of their best Slayers, half of which had been training for nearly six months. Faith tried to keep her head in the game, but all she could think about was Buffy and the talk she'd had with Kennedy before they'd joined Buffy and the others in the control room. She clutched on to the long sword she'd brought along with her, dragging the tip in the dirt, ignoring the chatter coming from the younger girls about what they were about to walk into.

The sea air was getting stronger and as the forest broke into an open field and the cliffs were in plain sight ahead of them, Faith inhaled deeply, stemming any fear she had coursing through her veins as she jogged to the front of the group to join Buffy, Satsu, and Kennedy. She stood at Buffy's side, taking her place as second in command. Buffy flashed her a quick smile before she turned to the girls.

"We're going to head in," she began as she motioned to the main entrance to the caves that winded down and throughout the entire cliff side. "We're going to stay with our assigned groups. If any of you run into problems, you know how to get in touch with the rest of us. If you find the portal, you report to me. Any questions?"

"What if we run into one or all of them?" One of the girls near the back of the group asked. "Do we fight or do we run away?"

"We fight. Remember, stabbing them will not kill them. Decapitation. If anyone is injured, you need to help them get out of harm's way. If you find yourself cornered, call for help. Do not wander away from your team at any given time. If you get lost, use the map you've been provided with. Any other questions?"

Nobody said a word and Buffy nodded and turned to head for the mouth of the cave. They gathered into their teams before following Buffy and her team down the tunnel first. When they reached the break, they lit their torches they'd brought along with them before going their separate ways. Faith had hated the caves since they'd first discovered them a few weeks after moving into the castle. The caves were cold, damp, dark, and something always seemed more than just a little off about them. Before the Neqa'el, nothing ever had inhabited the caves, the salty sea air driving most demons and vampires away.

The more she thought about things that had happened, or lack of, really, since they'd moved to Scotland, she had to wonder just what was really going on and how long the Neqa'el had been there without them knowing.

The tunnel in the caves, this specific one, Faith had never been down before. She moved to the girl holding one of two torches between the group and pulled out the map. She smelled it as she scanned over the map, the smell of wet dog, as Kennedy had said the Neqa'el smelled like. She laughed softly, folding the map back up and placed it in the back pocket of her jeans.

"What now?" The blonde haired girl at the front of the group asked as they reached a fork in the tunnels. "Which way do we go now, Faith?"

"You smell that?" Faith asked and she pointed her sword to the left tunnel. "We're going that way."

Faith moved to the front of her team, grabbing a torch from one of the girls and led the way deeper through the tunnels. According to the map that had been laid out, every tunnel, except for the few with dead ends, interconnected with each other, eventually leading to a cavern at least a hundred feet below sea level. The floor of the tunnel was awkward, sloping downwards at a steady angle and at times dropped a good twelve or so feet. They moved quickly and quietly, nobody saying a word. The odd gasp when one of them stumbled over the uneven ground was the only sound to be heard.

The tunnel suddenly turned into the cavern after the last sharp turn and when Faith saw the scene before her, a dozen or more Neqa'el facing against Buffy and her team, she dropped her torch and ran towards the fight.

"About damn time!" Kennedy yelled out as she struggled to fight against the male Neqa'el that swung a long sword at her that she just managed to duck away from. "We've been fighting these bastards for ten minutes now!"

Faith let the adrenaline flow through her and she swung her sword as one of the Neqa'el charged at her, taking its head clean off with just one swipe. She found herself surrounded by three of them and she let her adrenaline flow freely, backhanding one when it got too close, elbowing another in the face and quickly spinning around, slicing the head off the third.

Three more demons joined the two already circling Faith, trying to back her into a corner in the cavern. Using the rush of adrenaline along with the fear that came with it, she managed to send two flying with a perfectly timed roundhouse kick. She spun around, facing another two moving in fast. She swung her long sword hard, missing the first, barely scratching the second. She was hit in her left leg just below the knee and she felt the bones break and the pain shot through her, causing her to cry out and stumble towards the ground.

"Fuckin' hell," Faith cried out as she tried to keep her weight on her right leg. "Ken, where the fuck is Buffy?"

"Over there!" Kennedy yelled out, struggling again as two Neqa'el tried to corner her as well.

Faith looked over to her right and saw Buffy surrounded by five of them, a deep gash in her right arm preventing her from using her sword properly. Struggling to make it over to Buffy while fighting off the three Neqa'el on her ass, Faith made it over to her and was instantly struck down, feeling her ribs give way to the force of the blow to her torso.

"Faith!" Buffy yelled out and on one good leg, Faith managed to turn quickly enough, swinging her arm back with the sword to decapitate the Neqa'el charging at her. "We need to get out of here now!" Buffy yelled out, struggling to fight against three of them at once.

Faith saw the lethal swipe of the sword from the Neqa'el to Buffy's right and leapt forward, covering Buffy's body with her own. She cried out as the blade sliced a clean cut down her back, deep but not deep enough to kill her. Fighting through the pain, she took a moment to look at Buffy, the sound of the chaos erupting around them completely fading away.

"Some fight huh, B?"

"Faith-"

"Get 'em out if you can," she coughed out, tasting the blood in her mouth. "Just get 'em out of here. Get yourself out of here."

Faith slumped completely onto Buffy as she was hit in the right thigh, the bone breaking upon impact, the pain just a numbness now and yet completely unbearable. Buffy struggled to hold her and they slumped to the ground as a swarm of the Neqa'el surrounded them.

"Always knew I'd go out like this," Faith chuckled dryly, choosing in that moment to forget about the fight and the fact she was trying to save Buffy's life by giving up her own. "Saving you," she managed to get out before she let out a cry of anguish as the pain of her broken, battered body hit her. "No other way I could imagine goin' out, B. Saving the only one I've ever loved. Bet that earns me a place in Heaven instead of Hell, huh?"

She saw the blow to the head coming half a second before it landed, yet she did nothing to move, to avoid it. All she could do in that split second of a moment was smile at Buffy before her entire world went dark.

* * *

Buffy carefully rolled an unconscious Faith off of her, feeling a rush of rage mixed with the rush of adrenaline flow through her. Fighting off the Neqa'el that were surrounding her, she killed each one, blow by blow, constantly looking back at Faith to make sure none of the other Neqa'el got too close to her. Buffy took a half a second to look around her and to check on the rest of the girls. Kennedy had three fallen Neqa'el surrounding her as she fought a fourth and Satsu had already begun getting the girls out of there before things got even worse. The Neqa'el were beginning to retreat too, but there were only a few left standing.

She tried to hold back her emotions, all of them other than her anger when she saw four of her girls lying motionless on the ground. She fought off the Neqa'el that came at her with its own sword. Kennedy ran over and fell to her knees beside Faith.

"She's not dead, is she?" Buffy asked, barely casting a glance over at them as she struggled to gain the upper hand, swords clashing, the Neqa'el proving to be a little too strong to overtake on her own.

"Pulse is there. It's weak. We need to get her back now, Buffy."

A loud cry rang through the cavern and the few Neqa'el still standing stopped fighting and took flight, disappearing down one of the many tunnels that led there. Buffy dropped her sword and knelt down on the other side of Faith.

"Find something to splint her legs. I think they're both broken," Buffy said as she felt the sting of tears hit her eyes. "Kennedy! Go find something!"

"What the hell am I gonna use?"

"Use your fucking imagination," Buffy snapped. She took her shirt off that she wore over a thin tank top and started ripping shreds off. "Break off the ends of the torches."

Buffy carefully examined the rest of Faith's body, knowing her ribs were surely cracked, if not broken and her right arm didn't look too good either. She tried not to panic when she saw the small pool of blood gathering around Faith's head. Carefully and slowly, she lifted Faith's head and felt a small gash at the base of her skull. It wasn't deep, but she wasn't taking any chances. She didn't even know how she'd get Faith out of there safely. It was a long walk back to the castle and she knew as well as the others that the Neqa'el could come back and attack at any given time.

Using her cell phone and hoping there was at least a little bit of reception down there in the cavern, she called Willow. "Get down here now. Faith is hurt badly and I don't think I can get her back on my own."

"On it," Willow replied and Buffy snapped the phone shut as Kennedy ran over with four broken torch handles.

"This'll do?" Kennedy asked, standing back and watching Buffy as she tried to splint Faith's broken legs as best as she could.

"What's the count?" Buffy asked, not looking up at her as she tied the shreds of her shirt in a tight knot. "How many are dead?"

"Four down. Most injured but nothing too bad. Satsu already has them heading back up top."

Willow materialized a few feet away from them as Buffy carefully picked Faith up in her arms. Kennedy grabbed Buffy and Faith's swords and headed for the closest tunnel as Willow walked over to Buffy and gasped as she looked down at Faith.

"I need you to send us to the castle, Wills."

"I've never done two at a time," she whispered and she paled when the loud cry echoed through the cavern for the second time. "Buffy, I don't know if I can."

"Try."

Buffy closed her eyes as Willow muttered a few words in Latin. She felt her world spinning around her and she kept her eyes closed and a firm hold on Faith, limp and barely breathing in her arms. When the wave of nausea hit her, she held it back, opened her eyes and found herself standing in the infirmary, the resident doctor dropping her mug of coffee at Buffy's sudden appearance in the middle of the room. She barely managed to put Faith down on one of the beds before she lurched forward, losing what little she'd eaten that morning all over the green tiled floor.


	6. Chapter 5

**Chapter Five**

Buffy paced the floor out in the corridor, listening to the sounds of Dr. Ritz shouting out orders to the three nurses as they tried to stabilize Faith. She felt a lump form in her throat as the thought of losing Faith hit her. Giles came running down the corridor, out of breath and Buffy stopped him from entering the infirmary.

"Is she all right?"

"I don't know," Buffy whispered. "She's hurt. Worse than Kennedy was the other day."

"And the others?"

"On their way back right now. We lost four more girls down there."

"You need to get stitched up," Giles said, pointing to the gash on her right arm that continued to bleed slowly. Buffy shrugged it off and resumed pacing. "Buffy, you need to get that stitched up. It's quite deep."

"Appreciate your concern, Giles, but I'm a little more worried about Faith right now."

"She's in good hands. Dr. Ritz is a wonderful doctor."

"Yeah," Buffy sighed and she stopped pacing and looked down at the gash on her right arm. She'd been more worried about Faith since Faith had tried to save her life by placing her own body in front of hers that she hadn't realized just how bad it was.

"Come now, shall I stitch that up for you?" Giles asked and Buffy nodded and followed him into the infirmary. They stayed out of the way of the organized chaos taking place around the bed Faith was on. Buffy couldn't even look over at her as she hoisted herself up on the bed furthest from them while Giles got what he needed to tend to her wound. "Would you like me to numb it first?"

"Can't even feel it. Just do it. It'll be like the good old days," Buffy replied with a dry chuckle as she cast her eyes to the ugly green linoleum floor. "I hate this floor."

"Indeed," Giles laughed quietly as he prepped the needle.

Buffy winced when Giles dabbed at the gash on her arm, trying to disinfect it before stitching it up. The pain shot through her entire arm and all through her body and she gripped onto the edge of the bed hard. Just as Giles started the first stitch, the injured girls came into the infirmary all at once. The sounds faded from Buffy's mind as she lifted her head and looked over at Faith.

_She said she loved me,_ she thought and she felt the tears trickle down her cheeks. _She's in love with me. God, why didn't I ever see it before?_

"Are you quite all right, Buffy?"

"Fine," Buffy replied through clenched teeth. "Just get it done, Giles."

"I know that now might not be an ideal time to talk about what happened down there, but I believe it's prudent that each detail of the battle is made known so that we can get word out to the others around the world."

"Can this wait for a couple hours?" Buffy asked, sighing tiredly as he finished stitching her up. "I feel so drained right now. Some of the other girls can fill you on the details if it absolutely can't wait."

"You know that it cannot wait, Buffy. The situation with the Neqa'el can and will indeed get out of hand and out of our control."

"But-"

Giles, sensing Buffy's distress and worry about Faith, smiled lightly as he wrapped the gauze around her arm. "Faith will be fine," he insisted softly and he glanced over at her quickly. "They've got her stabilized. She needs her rest to heal. You won't do any good sitting around worrying about the state of her condition. You need to step up into your role as Head Slayer, Buffy. The others around the world need as much information as we can provide with them. If this situation does indeed get out of hand and out of our control, we must be prepared for what'll come."

Buffy slid off the bed and looked over at Faith for a moment before following Giles out of the infirmary. Kennedy, Satsu, Willow, and Xander were already in the office waiting for them. Giles took his seat behind the desk and pulled out a pen and paper, waiting for one of them to begin to detail the events that had happened down in the caves. Buffy stayed quiet while Satsu and Kennedy did most of the talking. The fight was replaying over and over in her mind and all she saw was Faith going down, all she heard was the echoes of Faith's words before she was knocked out and went limp in her arms.

She listened, barely, to Satsu describing every detail of the Neqa'el, from their appearance to the way they fought, unrestricted and at full force. She told Giles of the feral cry that had sounded and that the Neqa'el that were left standing took flight and left in a matter of seconds.

"Buffy, do you have anything to add?" Giles asked as all eyes in the room fell upon her. She shook her head no, fighting off the tears that were threatening to fall. "Nothing at all?"

"No. They pretty much covered everything," Buffy whispered and she felt Xander put an arm around her shoulders and give her a small hug. "Are we done here?"

"Not quite," Giles responded and he went over the details he'd written down. "How many do you think were there in total?"

"A dozen. Maybe more," Buffy replied as she shrugged off Xander's arm from around her shoulders.

"And how many were left in the end?"

"Three, I think."

"There were so many more than a dozen of them," Kennedy muttered bitterly. "If there were only a dozen of them, we would've been able to kill them all."

"Well, I couldn't exactly stand there and do a fucking head count!" Buffy snapped, her whole body shaking with anger as she glared across the room at Kennedy. "You know as well I do that the second we got into that cavern, we were surrounded by them. Didn't exactly give any of us a chance to go "oh there's probably about a dozen, maybe two. We're screwed." Faith and her team were late to the fight."

"And you think it would've made a difference had she and her team not been late?" Giles asked.

"I don't fucking know, Giles! Next time why don't you send someone down with a video camera so you can see with your own eyes how things went down. Would that work better for you?"

Buffy rarely lost it, but with the fight having been far from easy, four more girls having died, and Faith badly injured, it all made her fall completely apart. Nobody said a word, none of them able to look at Buffy any longer. She got up from the sofa and stormed out of the office, needing some time alone to think, and not just think about the fight against the Neqa'el, but to think about Faith and everything that had led up to where they stood now.

She made it to her room without anyone getting in her way. She slammed and latched the door shut and took a moment to look at the discarded ropes Faith had used to tie her to the bed and the forgotten half-full mugs of coffee still sitting on her nightstand. As she stood against the door and closed her eyes, she looked back at the friendship they'd formed since leaving Sunnydale behind.

It should have been impossible, as it had always been for them in the past, but they bonded and grew together; learned to live with one another, learned to leave past issues of jealousy and trust behind just like that. Faith still kept her and everyone else at arm's length, never talking about her past, her family, or any of the bad that had happened years ago in Sunnydale. She never talked about her time in prison, never talked about her feelings or thoughts, but Buffy had learned to read her emotions so clearly displayed in her eyes even when Faith thought she could hide them.

They fought over how to train the girls, practical versus get in, get it done, and have a little fun while you're at it. They fought over the stupidest little things too, none of which mattered once they laughed about it after the fact. The Slayer bond, the same one that had driven them apart and made coexistence impossible, had changed and brought them closer together than it ever had before. There was a definite connection between the two, one that used to scare Buffy before because she never truly knew what that connection meant. She still didn't know what that connection was, but it felt stronger than the Slayer bond they shared. It was different now that the same connection was now shared with over a thousand other girls and although Buffy knew the only one she ever felt the connection strongly with was with Faith, she also felt it with the others.

She had to wonder where love came in. Faith wouldn't have said it if she hadn't meant it and Buffy knew that much about her. She wanted to know the where's, the how's, the why's, but there were just so many questions she knew would probably never be answered for her. Love just happened when one least expected it; she knew that from her relationship with Angel. But her relationship with Faith was a far cry from anything she'd ever had with Angel, Riley, even Spike. There was something _more_ there with Faith and she was no longer afraid of figuring out just what the something more really was.

That denial she'd felt after first kissing Faith in the training room was no longer there. She couldn't even force herself to deny the fact that Faith made her feel things she'd never felt before and that she wanted more of it. She wanted whatever Faith would give her even if the thought of actually _being_ with her still scared her. She wasn't gay; at least she didn't think so. The only thing she could come up with was that the feelings she was having, the urges she was feeling, was solely a Faith thing, not a gay thing.

"I need to talk to Willow," she muttered to herself as she opened her eyes and made her way to her bed.

She knew she shouldn't be thinking about the things currently going through her mind at a time like this, when they had a definite apocalypse on their hands. Young girls, her Slayers, were dying, and the Neqa'el were more dangerous than any of them had thought, yet all she could think about was Faith. A soft knock sounded on her door and she got up from the bed and opened it slowly.

"Kinda thought you might need to talk," Willow said with a shy smile when Buffy stepped back to let her come in to the room. "What's going on, Buff?"

"I don't even know where to start," Buffy sighed as Willow shut the door behind her and they both walked over to the bed to sit down. "I guess I should start at the beginning, huh?"

"I know about you and Faith," Willow stated bluntly. At the stoic look on Buffy's face, she continued. "I was in the control room with Xander. We were just talking and I saw you two sparring in the training room on one of the monitors. We saw you two kissing."

"Great," Buffy said with a roll of her eyes, feeling her face flush in embarrassment. "I guess I don't need to start at the beginning then."

"Do you know that Faith is in love with you?"

"She hinted at it. Wait, how do you even know that?"

"Kennedy told me."

"And how the hell does Kennedy know?"

"Faith told her."

Buffy laughed as she shook her head and pouted at the big grin that slipped over Willow's lips. "This is crazy," she muttered as she playfully poked Willow in the shoulder. "Why aren't you freaking out over this and why aren't you telling me that it's wrong because it's Faith?"

"Because it's about damn time you two figured it out," Willow stated simply. "Can I ask you something? How do you feel about her? Are you in love with her too?"

"I don't know. I know I feel something. I'm trying to figure it out for myself."

"Have you two...you know?"

"No!" Buffy laughed and she poked Willow in the shoulder again. "We haven't...you know..."

"But you want to, don't you?"

"Will-"

"You _so_ want to," Willow laughed and she ducked out of the way of the pillow Buffy grabbed and tried to hit her with. "Have you two had anymore smoochies since the other morning?"

"Yes," Buffy nodded, feeling her face flush a deeper red. "This morning before you called me in for the meeting with Percy Chapman."

"Details. I want details."

"She left me breathless," Buffy whispered, feeling herself smile at the thought of how Faith had made her feel when she kissed her. "I can't stop thinking about it, about _her_. Wills, I don't know what I'm doing."

"You're falling in love with the woman who has become your best friend, that's what you're doing."

"Maybe I've already fallen?" Buffy muttered, mostly to herself, and she caught the surprised look on Willow's face. "I don't even know. My head isn't all there right now. I feel like I'm walking around in a dream. This situation with the Neqa'el is so not helping me here. My priorities aren't where they should be. I'm more worried about Faith and thinking about what's happening between us instead of being worried about what'll happen with the Neqa'el."

"You're right. We all need to worry about what's going to happen with the Neqa'el, but right now?" Willow sighed as she grabbed on to Buffy's hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. "Right now we've got a little bit of downtime. Use it to figure out what it is you're feeling, okay? We can't have you distracted when things get bad. And you know I am always here to talk to you about anything and everything."

"How did you even know I wanted to talk to you?"

"You're not so great at blocking your thoughts," Willow chuckled. "I was trying to listen to Giles and Percy, but all I heard was you and your inner ramblings about Faith."

"I'm worried about her."

"She's hurt, but she'll heal, Buffy."

"Can you try to-?"

"It won't work," Willow interjected. "I tried it on Kennedy when she was attacked by them. I couldn't figure out why and while you were down there, we did a bit more digging. It turns out that the touch of a Neqa'el leaves you immune to magic. It even slows down the Slayer inside of you, slows down the healing, and temporarily makes you weak, like a normal human being."

"I still feel strong."

"You weren't hurt badly enough for their..." Willow trailed off, pausing to think of the right word. "Whatever it is," she continued with a shrug, "we'll figure out a way through it. But for now? We need to keep them back, let Faith and the other girls that are injured heal before we try to take them out."

"How are we gonna do that?"

"Well, the barrier should hold them back from entering the castle, but there's no way to keep them confined in the caves. In the meantime," Willow said as she got up from the bed. "We'll find out as much as we can about them, about the portal, how and why they're here and why now, and why right here in Scotland."

"Where are you going?"

"Back to work. I need to contact all the bases around the world, let them know what's going on."

"When did we become like this?"

"Like what?"

"All business, military-like? It's almost like the Initiative all over again."

"Buffy, you know it's not like that. Not at all."

"We've got "bases" all over the world complete with squads and/or teams. We have leaders at every end of the world, leading the younger girls through their day-to-day training and patrol schedules. Then there's us, here, at Headquarters of the Slayer Organization, and to top it off there's the new Council in London and-"

"We're just organized, Buffy," Willow cut in. "It needs to be this way."

"I know. I'm just stressing out. I can't have a moment when I just lose it?"

"Of course you can, but-"

"Then let me have this moment to completely lose it, or as Faith would put it, "completely lose your shit" moment. I need my head in the game, but it's kinda hard to get my head in the game when all I can think about is-"

"Faith," Willow finished for her, smirking as she caught the pillow Buffy threw at her. "She is pretty hot, sexy, and gorgeous and I would be lying if I said I wouldn't pass up a chance to know what she's like in bed. So, I don't blame you for having Faith on the brain instead of your head in the game."

"Wills!" Buffy laughed when Willow threw the pillow back at her. "I didn't know you had the hots for Faith."

"I don't, but I do have eyes."

"Do you ever..." Buffy trailed off as Willow moved to leave the room. "Do you ever wish things would just stay the way they've been lately?"

"You mean almost normal?"

"Yeah. I don't think I can live through another apocalypse and watch any more of the girls die, Wills. Do you realize Faith put her own life on the line, trying to save mine? That's when she..."

"She told you she loved you?"

"Not quite in those words, no. She was talking about dying and how she'd never imagined any other way going out other than saving the only one she's ever loved."

"Which assumedly means you," Willow said with a nod and she joined Buffy back on the bed, sitting across from her, legs crossed Indian style. "What did you feel when she said that?"

"Scared. One of the Neqa'el that had me cornered hit her hard in the side of the head and she went limp. I thought she was dead."

"She's slipped into a coma," Willow said quietly. "Dr. Ritz called Giles right as you left to tell him about Faith's condition. She took a really bad blow to the head, Buffy, not to mention both her legs are broken, her ribs are broken, her right arm and collarbone are broken as well."

"So, what now then? She's gonna be in another coma for eight months or so? We can't let that happen. We _need_ her. I need her."

"Go sit with her. I'm sure Dr. Ritz has taken care of the others' injuries by now. Even if she is in a coma, Buffy, a little bit of company won't hurt. Don't worry about the slayer stuff right now or about the Neqa'el. I'll take care of it for you and help Giles spread the word to the others. Just go be with Faith, be there _for_ Faith. She may be in a coma, but there's been studies that-"

"I get it," Buffy said, stopping her from going on a Willow-rant. "She'll know I'm there, coma or not. Right?"

"Yeah," Willow nodded. "She will. So, go off and do the good girlfriend thing and sit at her side, hold her hand, whisper sweet words of love into her ear-"

"We're not...girlfriends," Buffy hesitated on the word slightly. "I don't even know what we _are_. We just kissed a couple of times. That doesn't exactly make us all relationshippy, does it? I'm not all up on the facts and rules on lesbian dating here."

"Tell you what," Willow said, fighting back the grin that was already slipping out. "You just be there for Faith and talk to her about this when she wakes up, okay? Just talk to her, tell her how you feel and go from there. From the things about Faith that I've heard from Kennedy, she's really not the Faith we all think she is. Sure there was the Faith we knew before she went all grr, then the Faith when knew when I brought her back to Sunnydale from LA after she saved Angel's er...life. But she's..."

"Different now," Buffy finished and sighed softly. "It's hard to just talk to her, Wills."

"Try, Buffy. All you can do is try. What's the worst that can happen? You know she loves you and if you tell her how you feel...who knows what'll come out of it?"

"That's what I'm afraid of," Buffy said quietly. "I don't know if I'm ready for whatever comes after I tell her how I feel."

"Buffy, for as long as I've known you, you've never been afraid of anything."

"That's not true. I've been afraid of a lot of things. I was afraid that morning before we fought against the First and the army of Turok-Han. I was afraid of what we'd do and where we'd go after we left Sunnydale behind. I was afraid of starting a life here in Scotland. And that's just the more recent stuff."

Buffy wasn't going to get any further into the fears she'd had. She'd already said a little too much and she'd spent far too long keeping it all bottled up inside. Despite that, she didn't feel any better with the easy admission of her more recent fears. Willow gave her a small hug before the two of them made their way out the room and went their separate ways without another word. Buffy made her way down to the infirmary, the corridor leading there eerily quiet and dark. She peered out the windows as she passed each one, seeing the dark, ominous looking clouds rolling in overhead.

Dr. Ritz was checking Faith's fluids when Buffy walked into the infirmary. She stayed by the door for a moment, watching the doctor as she checked over Faith before writing something down on her clipboard. The doctor walked up to Buffy and tiredly sighed.

"How is she?" Buffy whispered, almost afraid of what the doctor would tell her.

"She is in a great deal of pain," Dr. Ritz replied. "Because of her pain and the blow to the head, I believe she's fallen into a coma. Mr. Giles has informed me of her past medical history as well. Today and tonight will be touch and go for her. I think it's better that she's in a coma. She won't be able to feel the pain near as much. She'll be fine, but even with her slayer healing it might take her a few weeks to heal completely."

"Would it be okay if I sat with her for a little while?"

"I don't see the harm that it could do, dear. I'll just be in my office," Dr. Ritz said with a small, forced smile before she turned and headed for the other end of the infirmary where her office was located.

Buffy slowly made her way to Faith's bed, pulled up an orange plastic chair, and sat down. Both her legs were in casts, her right arm in a cast as well. She had the covers pulled up to her waist, the blue hospital gown making her pale skin look even paler. She took Faith's left hand in hers, careful of the IV's that were there. She gave her hand a gentle squeeze and fought back her tears as she listened to the steady beat of the heart monitor.

She wanted to talk to her, but it felt awkward to talk to her when she didn't know if she'd be able to hear or not. She raised her other hand to gently brush aside a few strands of hair from her face, careful to avoid the small cuts and bruises on her forehead. She had a slight déjà vu moment as she stared at Faith. They'd been in this same position before just once, although the circumstances were something that Buffy had chosen to let go years ago.

"She gonna be okay?" Kennedy asked, jerking Buffy away from the heavy thoughts her mind was quickly veering towards. "She looks pretty rough."

"Dr. Ritz said she'd be fine," Buffy managed to say as she let go of Faith's hand reluctantly. "What are you doing here?"

"Can't come and check on my best friend?" Kennedy asked, rolling her eyes as she sat on the bed next to Faith's. "What are you doing here?"

"Same reason as you I guess," Buffy shrugged, finding it hard to look Kennedy directly in the eye. "I'm just worried about her. I wanted to come and sit with her for a little while just in case she wakes up."

"Uh, I kind of was looking for you too," Kennedy said and she waited until Buffy looked over at her before she continued. "Satsu went out with a couple of the girls to retrieve the bodies. We want to give them a proper burial. None of those girls have family so we can't send them back to where they came from. It's the right thing to do."

"It's dangerous. They shouldn't be out there."

"They know the risks, Buffy. We all know the risks. But we can't just leave them out there. It's not right. They don't deserve to be left abandoned as if their lives meant nothing. They weren't just Slayers, Buffy. They were a part of our family."

"I know," Buffy sighed hesitantly and she let a few tears fall. "It's not going to get any easier, is it?"

"No, I don't think so. At least not right now. Things gotta go to shit before they start to look up. We're gonna bury them tonight, just after dinner. Xander is out near the back entrance uh, preparing the graves for them."

"Eight girls," Buffy muttered under her breath, shaking her head and furiously wiping away her tears. "How many more are going to put their lives on the line before we can take out the Neqa'el?"

"I don't know."

Buffy stood up slowly, taking one last look at Faith before she turned and headed for the door with Kennedy right behind her. "Have the others been informed of the situation?"

"Willow is working on that right now," Kennedy replied.

"Have you seen Dawn at all today?" Buffy asked as they stopped at the end of the corridor by the stairs. Kennedy just shook her head no, leaving Buffy to head upstairs in search of her sister.

Everything felt off and out of place, almost as if a fog had settled over her life. She knew those months upon months of little activity were far too good to be true. With her mind focused solely on Faith and the Neqa'el, she knocked on Dawn's bedroom door and upon receiving no answer, she opened it and found Dawn sitting on the edge of her bed crying. She didn't need to ask her why she was upset. The girls that had fallen had been close friends of Dawn, that much she knew. She sat down next to her sister and gave her a hug, whispering that everything would be okay again. One day.


	7. Chapter 6

**Chapter Six**

Buffy stood next to Willow and Dawn as a priest Giles had called from the closest town read a prayer for the fallen slayers. Buffy huddled close to Willow as Dawn held the big black umbrella over their heads. The sky had opened up about an hour before, the rain coming down in a constant torrential downpour with no signs of letting up.

Eight graves, eight fallen slayers, and not one of the others offered to speak a few words before the priest said a final prayer. They trailed inside in small groups, huddling under the umbrellas to keep from getting soaked in the rain. Buffy headed straight up for the infirmary, wanting to check on Faith before she led most of the girls through a round of training. Willow followed her to the infirmary to follow through with a small agreement they'd made between the two of them before the funeral service. Despite Kennedy having been immune to magic healing, Willow was going to try to bring Faith out of her coma.

"What if it doesn't work?" Buffy whispered as she held open the door to the infirmary. "It's not going to hurt her, is it?"

"If it doesn't work, it doesn't work, and no," Willow sighed as she looked around the room nervously. "I don't think it'll hurt her."

"Is there anything you need me to do?"

"Keep anyone from coming in here for at least five minutes. You know Dr. Ritz would start freaking out as soon as she saw me trying magic on Faith. The woman sees a lot, but you know she can only take so much before she starts losing her mind."

"She knew what she was getting into when Giles brought her here."

"Did she?" Willow asked and she tsked before she walked over to Faith's bed.

Buffy stood by the door, holding it shut and she watched as Willow ran her hands over Faith's head gently and slowly. She faintly heard Willow murmur a few words as her hands glowed white and Faith's body shook several times before going still. The steady beeping continued on the heart monitor as Willow continued to murmur the words to the spell she'd conjured. A few minutes passed before Willow's hands stopped glowing and Buffy walked over to Faith's bed urgently, heart full of hope that it'd worked. Her heart instantly fell when she saw Faith's eyes were still closed and that nothing had changed.

"I'm sorry," Willow frowned as she stumbled back a couple of steps. "Wow, that one was a doozey of a spell. Nearly drained me. I'm sorry Buffy. I tried."

"It's okay," Buffy said softly as she put an arm around Willow's shoulders and smiled as she fought off her disappointment. "We both knew it might not work. Didn't hurt to try."

"You know," Willow sighed out as Buffy helped her sit down in the orange plastic chair next to Faith's bed. "I really can't wait for her to wake up either. I want know what'll happen with you two as much as you do. You love her, she loves you, it only makes sense that you two get together. Except for your past, which is all past-scmast, right?"

"We're over all that, remember? I forgave her for turning on us and against herself, and she forgave me for being such a bitch to her when she came to me to try to make things right."

"When did that happen?"

"In LA before she turned herself in."

"She told me when I brought her to Sunnydale to help us with the First that she turned herself in because of you, for you."

"I know, Wills. She told me."

"When?"

"When we came here and "bonded" with all the sudden downtime we had. We worked through everything over a couple of weeks, decided in the end just to let the past go and move on."

"And now you two are moving on to the lovey-dovey schmoopy stuff," Willow grinned. "What was it like kissing her? Because from what I saw on that monitor, wowza!"

"Okay, Wills, you're a little high on the magic right now," Buffy laughed as she rolled her eyes and pulled her up from the chair. Willow pouted and Buffy rolled her eyes again. "Okay, you remember when you told me what it was like when you and Tara first kissed? How there was some kind of electricity flowing between you two? It's like that with Faith. And then some."

"Ooh," Willow laughed, wiggling her eyebrows as Buffy led her out of the infirmary. "I always knew there was some kind of spark between you two," Willow giggled. "Tara told me something right around the time of the whole body swap thing."

"What did she tell you?"

"Well, the spell Faith used? It didn't just swap your souls; it...linked the two of you together, which you know it makes total sense why you went all sex crazy with Spike when we brought you back."

"Yeah, I don't think that's why, Wills. And I thought we agreed that we'd never bring up that _thing_ I had with Spike ever again?"

"Oops."

Buffy shook her head and took Willow to her room so she could recover from her magic high away from the others. As soon as she had Willow in her room, she felt the exhaustion hit her hard. She made her way to her own room, knowing she needed her rest while she could still get it. She barely managed to slip off her boots before she fell face first on her bed, almost instantly falling asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow.

* * *

For the next three days the castle was unusually quiet. The girls trained with Buffy in the morning and helped Willow, Giles and Percy with research in the afternoons while Buffy sat at Faith's bedside hoping she'd wake up sooner rather than later. She always came just after two in the afternoon, after one of the nurses had given Faith a sponge bath and changed the dressings on the wound on her back. This afternoon however Buffy had decided to go earlier than she normally did and walked into the infirmary just as the nurse finished redressing the wound on Faith's back.

"I'll be done in a moment, Ms. Summers," she said quickly as she pulled the gown back over Faith and carefully turned her on her back. "She's healing quite nicely. There shouldn't be much of a scar there once she's healed."

"I'm sure she'll be happy to hear that," Buffy muttered under her breath and waited until the nurse gathered up her things and left her alone with Faith. Buffy brushed aside Faith's hair, tucking the strands behind her ear and let out a heavy sigh. "It's been three days, Faith. You need to wake up." Nothing other than the steady beat of the heart monitor filled the room. "I have something to tell you and I can't tell you while you're still sleeping."

_Yeah, like that'll make her wake up_, Buffy mused and she found herself chuckling softly. _Dr. Ritz said she might hear you. Just tell her you love her. Stop being such a wuss._

"Faith?" Buffy whispered, taking Faith's hand in hers and gently intertwining their fingers. "You know that thing I wanted to tell you?" Buffy waited for a moment, hoping she'd at least try to wake up or squeeze her hand to let her know she could hear her. "You remember what you said to me before that Neqa'el hit you in the head? How you couldn't imagine going out any other way than saving the only one you've ever loved?" Buffy sighed and her eyes went wide as she felt Faith's hand flex slightly in hers. "I wanted to tell you that I...I need you to wake up."

_Great, even with Faith in a coma you can't even say it,_ Buffy's inner voice chided her.

Love wasn't something easy for Buffy to readily admit. She'd only known real, deep love once in her life and that had been with Angel. With Faith, it felt different. It _was_ different. She wasn't even sure if it was love or if it was something else that she felt for Faith. It wasn't as if she could figure it out with Faith lying there in a coma, completely unresponsive. The most she knew she'd be able to admit to Faith was that she did have feelings for her that were more than just friendly feelings. The L word would come in time. She was having a hard time even saying it in her head as it was.

Sighing heavily, Buffy let go of Faith's hand and stood up from the uncomfortable orange plastic chair. She walked over to the bedside table three beds down and picked up a couple of magazines, one of them a similar weapons catalogue like the one she had in her room. She sat back down in the chair and flipped through the pages slowly, noticing that someone had made a few comments in red pen next to a couple of the swords and daggers. There was one sword, the blade was almost black and the grip was wrapped in red leather.

It took her a few minutes before she realized that Faith, at one point or another, had gone through that same catalogue and she'd been the one making the comments in the red pen next to the weapons she wanted, the black bladed sword being the only one that had the comment 'B would never let me have this'. The sword came with a matching dagger and Buffy looked over at Faith, a smile curling over her lips as she pulled her cell phone out of her pocket and dialled Willow's number.

"I need you to do me a favour," she said quietly.

"Sure. What kind of favour?"

"I want to get Faith something for when she wakes up," Buffy said and she read off the order number written below the description of the sword and dagger combination. "I know you have connections, Wills."

"I'll see what I can do," she replied and laughed quietly. "Buffy, you _do_ realize how long Faith had been talking about this, don't you?"

"No?"

"Months. She and Kennedy always go through the catalogues and this is the one thing she really wanted, but Giles would never put up the money for her to get it. He kept claiming we've got plenty of weapons and that she didn't need it."

"Well, I want to get it for her. Use your powers of persuasion to get Giles to open that wallet of his."

"Or I can use my power of hacking skills to dip into our funds," Willow whispered. "Let's just hope Giles won't notice about five grand missing."

"Thank you," Buffy said with a smile and she hit the end button and glanced down at the picture of the sword and dagger. She tossed the catalogue on the bed behind her and reached for Faith's hand.

It was barely a minute after she intertwined her fingers with Faith's when she felt her hand flex. Buffy stared down at Faith's hand in hers, waiting to see if she'd just imagined it and her eyes darted up to Faith's closed eyes. Her eyes fluttered slightly and then she felt her hand flex a little harder and grip her own. She held her breath, wondering if Faith was waking up or if this was just what normal coma patients did every once in a while. Not wanting to leave her side to go find Dr. Ritz or one of the nurses, she continued to wait, inhaling deeply and holding her breath once again as Faith's lips slowly parted.

"Faith? Open your eyes," Buffy whispered as she stroked her thumb over Faith's, trying to encourage her to wake up. "Faith?"

Faith gasped and winced in pain as her eyes fluttered open. Buffy's heart clenched as a smile slipped over her lips and she fought the urge to lean over and kiss Faith since she was so happy she'd woken up.

"B?" Faith said in a hoarse whisper. "The hell happened?"

"You took a pretty bad blow to the head," Buffy said calmly, trying to contain her happiness and her relief that Faith was awake. "And to the rest of your body," she finished as she motioned to the casts on both her legs and her right arm.

"How long?"

"What?"

"How long was I out for this time?"

"About three days."

"Felt longer," Faith muttered, barely managing a small, throaty chuckle as she blinked a couple of times before squeezing Buffy's hand. "You been here the whole time?"

"I've been here a couple hours every day. I was worried about you."

"S'no big," she grinned. "I'm here, alive, and well...almost okay. Feeling a shitload of pain right about now though."

"I should go get Dr. Ritz and tell her you're awake now."

"B?" Faith gripped on to Buffy's hand as she tried to let go. "Stay here a minute, will ya?"

"Faith-"

"Am I going through the same deal as Ken here? Not healing like I should be?"

"I think so."

"Fuckers. When I get my hands on 'em, they're gonna wish they never fucking came here."

Buffy let out a small laugh, relieved to see it wasn't taking Faith very long to get back to her normal self. "You'll be in here for a little while longer, Faith. I don't think they're gonna wait for you to heal so you can kick their ass."

Dr. Ritz walked out of her office then and both Buffy and Faith nearly jumped when they heard the sound of the ceramic mug hitting the floor and shattering.

"We really need to get her a plastic mug or somethin'," Faith muttered, smirking a little as Dr. Ritz quickly made her way over to the bed. "Heya, Doc."

"Faith, you're awake!"

"Unless I'm dreamin'," she chuckled. "What the prognosis, Doc? I gonna live to fight another day?"

Buffy let go of her hand as Dr. Ritz shook her head and began to check Faith's vitals. She could only watch as the doctor felt over Faith's ribs, wincing in sympathy pain when Faith inhaled sharply and fought off the tears as the doctor gently ran her fingers over her broken ribs. After poking and prodding her for a few minutes and asking a couple of questions, she adjusted the morphine drip and gave them both a small smile before walking away, muttering under her breath at how she'd never live to understand how quickly slayers could recover from just about anything.

"You gonna stay for awhile, B?"

"If you want," Buffy replied as she sat back down in the plastic chair. "How are you feeling now?"

"Like I got hit by a fuckin' Mack truck. Never been so broken before. It sucks."

"I should go," Buffy whispered as she moved to get up from the chair. "You need to rest and I need to help the others find out more about the Neqa'el."

"Let me know what's the what later," Faith mumbled as she closed her eyes, succumbing to the effects of the morphine now flowing through her body.

Buffy took a deep breath before she turned and left, not wanting to leave, but knowing where her responsibilities were. As much as she wanted to stay with Faith, she knew she was needed elsewhere and she knew that Faith needed as much rest as possible. Her being there wouldn't help Faith heal any faster, nor would it help with finding out all they could about the Neqa'el either.

Buffy found Willow, Giles, and Percy in the library, seated at the table piled high with books that Percy had brought along with him. She took a seat next to Willow, sighing heavily as she grabbed the closest book and began to flip through it.

"How's Faith?" Willow asked quietly, averting her eyes away from Giles and Percy's stare.

"She's awake."

"How's she feeling?"

"Not so great," Buffy replied with a sigh. "Did you guys find out anything more about the Neqa'el?"

"Not much more than we already know," Willow replied and she closed the book she had open and leaned towards Buffy a little more. "We got a phone call from Rona. Things are getting bad in Cleveland."

"How bad?"

"There are a few Neqa'el there."

"You wait until _now_ to tell me?"

"We're waiting on more information from Rona, but right now all she could tell us was that she and the others on her team ran into them last night during a routine patrol. The few Neqa'el they ran into retreated before they could get close enough."

Buffy let out a heavy sigh as she closed her eyes. She had a feeling things would start to get bad and go from bad to worse a lot quicker than any of them anticipated. Giles and Percy were chatting quietly at the other end of the table, but Buffy was paying no attention to them, her mind not even on the Neqa'el, but on Faith.

"I put out a message to the rest of the teams around the world. We're waiting to hear back from them. Satsu took the girls out for a run and don't worry," Willow said, holding up her hand when Buffy went to interrupt her. "They're staying within the barrier. Nothing is going to happen to them."

"Where's Xander?"

"In the control room with Andrew and Dawn, waiting for the phone calls to come in."

"We need to do something."

"What can we do, Buffy?" Willow asked, looking a little confused. "What can we do about what? The Neqa'el? We're working on finding out as much as we can right now. There's only so much these books tell us about them. They aren't exactly a well known species and very rarely has anyone fought them and lived to tell the tale, much less write about it."

"It's not good enough," Buffy stated simply. "What we know is not enough, Wills. There has to be a way to know what they're really doing here. I don't think it's as simple as them having just been banished to the mortal plane. There's something much bigger at work here."

"We'll figure it out," Willow replied. "We always do, don't we?"

"Yeah," Buffy said quietly and she glanced at Giles and Percy to make sure they weren't paying attention to them. "Did you get that thing I asked you about?"

"Oh yeah, the order has been put in. It should arrive tomorrow morning."

"How'd you manage that? Don't these things usually take a week to ship out?"

"Let's just say a friend of a friend owed me a favour for a spell I cast for him a few months ago," Willow replied with a sly grin that quickly faded at Buffy's sceptical look. "Oh no, it's nothing like that, Buffy. A friend of the coven wanted me to help him with a healing spell for his wife. She was injured in a car accident."

"If you say so."

Willow went back to reading through the books and Buffy got up and wandered over to the nearest window, watching Satsu lead the girls around the small field to the west of the castle. She could only faintly see the barrier, glowing a pale blue that surrounded the castle. The barrier was the only thing keeping them all safe for the moment, but Buffy knew, like with almost all of Willow's spells, that it wouldn't hold up for much longer.

This wasn't just another apocalypse. Buffy had the worse feeling that this was _the_ apocalypse and they were only just about to see what would really happen in the days to come.

* * *

Faith lay on the bed in the infirmary, the morphine making the pain bearable, just slightly. She flipped through the channels on the TV, most of the stations blacked out completely. It wasn't unusual though, they were in a rather remote area and Giles still hadn't allowed them to get satellite TV. His claims were that their operations were far more important than whether they had more than two working channels on the TV.

Faith's mind wasn't on the TV, or lack of, nor was she thinking of the Neqa'el. Her mind was solely on Buffy. Nobody had ever gotten into her head like that and the last time that ever happened was shortly after she'd first arrived in Sunnydale. It was always about Buffy for her, whether she wanted to admit it to herself or not. It always had been about Buffy since the night they'd first met. She'd always tried to figure out just why that was and the only answer she ever got was because it was _Buffy_.

She couldn't believe that she'd basically told Buffy she loved her, but in her defence she thought she was about to die. Love wasn't easy for her, just as she knew it wasn't for Buffy, and she'd never felt this way about anyone in her entire life. Love wasn't an emotion she felt or accepted. Love was something that made her run before it got close to it. Did she love Buffy? Was she in love with Buffy? Every ounce of her heart said yes, fighting against the thoughts in her mind that told her she would never be worthy to love or be loved, especially not by someone like Buffy.

"Stop thinking about her," Faith muttered under her breath as she flipped the TV off and tossed the remote onto the table next to the bed.

"Faith," Dr. Ritz said softly as she approached the bed with a small smile on her face. "How are you feeling?"

"Like hell," Faith replied. "And this bed is wicked uncomfortable."

"I've put in an order for a chair," Dr. Ritz said as she looked over Faith's chart and began jotting down a few things. "I know even with your accelerated healing you may not need it for very long, but your legs are badly broken. You'll need rehabilitation once you've healed."

"How long you figure that'll be?"

"As of this moment, I have no idea, Faith."

"I can't be outta this fight for very long, Doc. I need to be there with the others. I need to kick some Neqa'el ass, make 'em pay for the girls' lives they've taken and for them fucking me up like this."

Dr. Ritz sighed heavily and tucked a strand of her greying brown hair behind her ears. "You are strong, Faith. I've never seen anyone in my thirty years of being a doctor bounce back so quickly from a comatose state. This isn't the first time, nor is it the second, but I'd be very careful if I were you. You won't always be so lucky."

"Luck is my middle name, Doc. Even when I'm lower than low, it seemed like luck always finds its way to me. Way it is, way it's always been."

"You've come a long way from what I understand," Dr. Ritz said with a smile. "You'll be back to yourself in no time, Faith. But, for now," she said as she placed Faith's chart back on the holder on the foot of the bed, "you need to rest and let your body heal. There's a buzzer on that remote. If you need anything, press it and either I will come or one of the nurses will."

"Hey Doc?" Faith said before Dr. Ritz could walk away. "Any way I can get that cute blonde nurse to give me a sponge bath later? Feeling all sorts of grimy here."

"If she's still on her shift, I'm sure I can arrange that," Dr. Ritz replied, laughing when Faith wiggled her eyebrows and grinned. "I'm glad to see you haven't changed one bit, Faith."

Faith winked and closed her eyes, breathing heavily as pain shot through her legs. She'd never been beaten so badly before, but she knew she'd bounce back. Maybe not in a couple of days or a week, but she'd bounce back and take on the Neqa'el, killing every last one of them and making them pay for what they'd done.

The sound of the alarm as it rang throughout the castle made her want to jump out of bed and run down to the control room. She hated missing out on the action. She should be there, fighting alongside the others. Pushing down her anger and frustration, she kept her eyes closed and felt the tears slowly slide down her cheeks. Feeling helpless made her feel, well, helpless and it was a feeling she had grown accustomed to throughout her life before she was a Slayer.

Alone with her thoughts, most of which she knew would drive her insane if left alone too long, she let the sound of the alarm fade out as sleep began to overtake her.

* * *

Buffy was the first to arrive in the control room and she stared at the monitors as she stood next to Xander, watching as one of the Neqa'el passed through the barrier with ease and slowly made its way towards the back entrance of the castle.

"How did it get through?" Buffy demanded, her voice wavering slightly in fear as she glanced at Xander. "How the hell did it get through the barrier?"

"I don't know, Buff."

"Well, I'm going to find out what the hell it's doing here," she said and she marched over to the armoury and grabbed the first sword she laid her eyes on. "Whatever happens, Xander, do not allow anyone else to come out after me. Do you hear me?"

"But-"

"I mean it. Do not let any of the others come after me. I'm going to deal with this."

"Buff?"

"What?"

"Be careful," Xander said quietly and she just nodded and ran out of the control room.

Thunder cracked loudly as she ran out the back door and she came to a stop as she spotted the Neqa'el about thirty feet ahead of her. The rain began to fall from the sky and she blinked rapidly as she began a slow walk towards the Neqa'el. It was a woman. She was pale with long black hair and even in the distance, Buffy could see how intense her blue eyes were. She took a few shaky breaths, gripping her sword tighter in her hand with every step she took. The Neqa'el held up her hands as Buffy got closer. It was visibly shaking, almost in fear as Buffy raised her sword, ready to take a lethal swipe.

"Please," the Neqa'el said quickly in clear and perfect English. "I did not come to fight. If I was a threat, the barrier would have kept me from passing."

Buffy pursed her lips tightly as she stared at the Neqa'el. Her wings were drawn back, her black hair soaked and draping around her angelic face. _Never trust the enemy_ was the only thought going through Buffy's mind and she raised her sword and took a step forward, ready to put an end to this Neqa'el.


	8. Chapter 7

**Chapter Seven**

Buffy led the Neqa'el into the castle with the tip of the sword at the back of its neck. The Neqa'el followed Buffy's orders without hesitation and allowed to be tied to a chair as soon as they reached the control room. Buffy got the younger slayers out of the room, not wanting them to be near if the Neqa'el chose to break free of its restraints and attack.

"I did not come to fight," it said softly as Buffy made sure the chains were tightly wrapped around and locked with a deadbolt not even a slayer could break through. "I've come to help."

"How can you help us? What are you, a rogue? Turning against your own?"

"Yes."

Buffy laughed as she pointed the sword to the Neqa'el's slim neck. "You got a name?"

"Danu."

"And how the hell can you help us, _Danu_?"

"I can tell you how to defeat my brothers and sisters and how to close the portal of which we come."

Buffy lowered the sword, still completely on guard as she took a step back. Giles, Percy, and Andrew were all staying as far back as they could while Xander and Willow stood strong behind Buffy. Buffy turned to Willow and sighed.

"_Wills, do you think we should trust this?"_

"_Has she tried to harm you since she came past the barrier?"_

"_No, but how did she even get past the barrier in the first place?"_

"_She has no intention to harm any of us. It was part of the barrier spell."_

"_It's not like a glitch or anything?"_

"_No. If her intentions were pure, that would've allowed her to pass through the barrier as if it weren't even there. Buffy, she could help us with this. What better er...thing to help us than a Neqa'el itself?"_

Buffy knew Willow was right. The rogue Neqa'el could help them bring the rest of them down and feed them vital information none of the books they had acquired could. Buffy placed her sword on Andrew's desk and brought both hands to her throbbing temples. She glanced over at the Neqa'el, looking it over. She looked very much human, aside from her black wings. She looked fragile too, but Buffy wouldn't let the Neqa'el's dainty appearance fool her. She knew how strong they were and she knew how quickly they could fight and kill.

She looked over at Giles, watching him as he spoke on the phone. Watching as the colour drained from his face as he hung up and turned to look at her. She knew that look all too well and she felt a lump rise in her throat as Giles motioned for her to come over to him.

"What's wrong?"

"I've just received a phone call from Cleveland."

"What did Wood have to say?"

"They lost all but two girls. The Neqa'el are there."

"Are Vi and Rona..."

"Those are the two who made it," Giles said quietly and he cleared his throat. "I've been receiving messages from the others. They've yet to encounter more than one Neqa'el. They are spreading and they are spreading rather quickly."

"We were banished here to right the wrong," Danu spoke quietly and all eyes turned to her. "You've upset the balance, destroyed what should be. One girl in all the world, not thousands. We've been banished here to correct your wrongdoing."

"We already know that," Buffy said and she grabbed the sword off Andrew's desk and glared at the Neqa'el. "Tell us something we _don't_ know."

"The portal," Danu said slowly. "What do you know of it?"

"Nothing."

"It's stronger than any portal you've ever encountered. Magic alone will not close it. You need the blood of one of us, shed by a sword blessed by a priest."

"Sounds easy enough," Buffy said with a shrug as she turned to look at Willow. "Doesn't it sound easy enough?"

"Maybe," Willow replied, sounding as unsure as Buffy did. "We still need to know more. We need to know just about everything we can."

"What do you need to know?" Danu asked calmly. "I can answer any questions you may have about myself, my brothers and sisters, where we come from, and what our purpose is."

"Giles, get Wood on the phone and tell him to bring Vi and Rona here as soon as possible," Buffy said, ignoring Danu, knowing they'd need to get those they could to the castle safely before any of the Neqa'el reached the others. "I want you to get in touch with the others. Everyone is to come here as soon as possible. We will lure the Neqa'el back here. We can't fight this fight with them scattered all over the world."

Buffy looked over at Willow, sensing something wasn't quite right with her. The wheels in her head started turning and she gripped her sword tightly, her knuckles turning white, as she realized nobody had confronted Willow about how she knew just what was there. How did she know they were Neqa'el when Kennedy didn't remember what they'd looked like when she was attacked in the caves? How did she even know about the Neqa'el in the first place? Willow kept looking over at the Neqa'el chained to the chair with a curious glint in her eyes.

"Wills?" Buffy said quietly as she motioned for her to come over to her. "What's going on?"

"What do you mean?"

"I think you have a few things to explain to me, to us. All of us."

"I don't know what you're-"

"How did you know about the Neqa'el?"

Willow sighed. "I was there. In the caves. You know, when Kennedy was attacked. She didn't know I was there," she said quietly. "I saw them with my own eyes, I watched them beat Kennedy, and I did nothing to stop them. I remembered reading about them, seeing them somewhere before and then it clicked. I knew exactly what we were dealing with and by the time I got back to the castle, you were all here, ready to walk blindly into a fight."

Buffy stared at her, knowing she'd be able to pick up on any lies that came from Willow. She was almost angry with herself for not seeing this before, but that little voice in the back of her mind reminded her that she had other things-Faith for one thing-on her mind the past week or so now.

"Why didn't you just tell us that?"

"I don't know, Buffy. I really don't know."

"Why didn't you try to stop them?" Buffy asked, not knowing how Willow could have stood there and watched the woman she loved be beaten unless she...no, she couldn't have fallen out of love with Kennedy already, could she? "No," Buffy said after a long period of silence between the two.

"Yeah," Willow said, frowning as she glanced over at where Kennedy had been standing and found her already on her way out the door. "I haven't had a chance to talk to her. Things haven't been so great between us lately. But enough about that," Willow said and she shook her head. "We've got other things to worry about right now."

Buffy glanced over at the Neqa'el, not knowing how to go about getting information from it-her, whatever it was. Although Danu seemed willing to give out whatever information they wanted, and she had given them some to go by, Buffy wasn't so sure they could trust her. She came from the side of their newest enemies. It wasn't too often than one of their enemies turned rogue and offered to help them bring the others down.

But she knew that maybe, just this once, she should trust the enemy. There wasn't anything else she could do. There wasn't anything else any of them could do. She just hoped that the Neqa'el wouldn't turn around and kill them all when they let their guard down.

* * *

Kennedy sat at Faith's bedside flipping through the channels on the small TV that hung from the ceiling by the wall. She groaned loudly when she couldn't find anything worth watching and flipped the TV off.

"You're gonna go insane in here, aren't you?" Kennedy asked and Faith laughed dryly as she tried to shift her body on the bed to get comfortable. "I know it's a stupid question, but how are you feeling?"

"The morphine is making the pain bearable. Other than that, just fuckin' peachy, Ken."

"You know," Kennedy started and she paused, wondering if it was a good idea to tell Faith what she'd heard Willow say to Buffy about how she knew about the Neqa'el. "You ever ask yourself how Willow knew about this whole thing?"

"Wondered about it, yeah, but didn't think much about it. Red knows her shit however she knows her shit," Faith replied with a shrug. "What's up, Ken?"

"She was there. In the caves. Watching."

"When you were in there getting your ass kicked?"

"That's how she knew what we were dealing with. Is it wrong that I feel...pissed as hell that she did nothing to stop them? She just watched them kick my ass, Faith!"

"Hey, I'm pissed as hell at her too for not stepping in and throwing some kind of magic mojo at them to try and stop them. What's her deal anyway?"

"I don't know, but things between us haven't been so stellar lately."

"No?" Faith looked a little surprised at the revelation. "She didn't give you any of that sexual healing?"

"No," Kennedy laughed dryly. "There hasn't been any in a while. We may share the same room, but we rarely share the same bed."

"You two lost the fire?"

"Think so, yeah."

"Sucks," Faith said softly. "So, you two gonna figure things out or what?"

"What's there to figure out? She doesn't love me, Faith. I don't think she ever really has. Not like she loved Tara. I don't think she'll ever be able to love anyone as much as she loved Tara."

"Where's that leave you then?"

"On my own with my five-fingered friends," Kennedy chuckled as she wiggled her fingers.

"Always one way to deal."

"Yeah, if I can find any time between visiting your crippled ass and helping Buffy deal with the Neqa'el we got chained up in the control room."

Faith tensed and clenched her left hand tightly. "Shouldn't you have told me that before you laid all that other shit down on me?"

"It's a mixed bag of shit, Faith."

"How did it get past the barrier?"

"Apparently it's not here to harm us. It's here to _help_ us. Buffy and the others are down there now dealing with it."

"And what the hell ya doing up here with me, Ken? Shouldn't you be down there with them?"

"And do what?" Kennedy asked, sighing heavily as she leaned back on the uncomfortable orange plastic chair and shook her head. "They all got it covered down there. Wasn't like anyone was coming up here to clue you in on what's going down right now either."

"Here I thought you were coming to visit your crippled best friend," Faith laughed and she backhanded Kennedy with her left hand. "There anything else going on down there that I should know about?"

"Not that I know about, no. Oh, the Neqa'el Buffy chained up down there, it has a name. Danu."

The two laughed as Dr. Ritz came over, shaking her head as she tried not to laugh as well. "Kennedy, I'm afraid I have to cut your visit with Faith short. This may not be a hospital but we do have specific visiting hours."

"I'll come back later," Kennedy said as she rose from the chair. She winked at Faith as the blonde-haired nurse walked over with a small bucket of soapy water. "Enjoy your sponge bath, Faith. Try to keep your hands to yourself."

"I'll make no promises on that," Faith chuckled, wiggling her eyebrows at the cute nurse next to the bed.

Kennedy laughed and walked towards the doors. The last thing she heard before she walked out and closed the door behind her was the sound of Faith chuckling slyly at the cute blonde-haired nurse. She was relieved just as much as the others to see Faith awake and nearly back to her usual self.

Avoiding the control room, not wanting to deal with Willow, Buffy, and that..._thing_ chained to the chair, Kennedy headed for the smaller training room there on the second floor. She still felt a little weak from the attack despite having gone to the caves with the others to fight. She flipped on the stereo as she walked past and headed straight to the heavy bags in the far corner. Not bothering with the gloves or even tape, she began to hit the bag repeatedly in time to the music.

"We're having a meeting," Buffy said as she turned off the stereo abruptly. "You should be there."

"So should Faith, but she's all laid up, broken, and getting a sponge bath from that pretty blonde nurse," Kennedy replied dryly. Buffy rolled her eyes as she crossed her arms over her chest and glared at her in typical Buffy fashion. "Yeah, I know it's not her fault for not being able to be there for this all important meeting, but-"

"Who said it was important?"

"Hello, you went and chained up a Neqa'el to a fucking chair in the control room. Any meeting is gonna be fucking important when we're in the middle of a goddamn apocalypse and you got one of them here in the fucking castle!"

"You spend far too much time with Faith," Buffy muttered. "Meeting. Now. In the office."

"Wait, what the hell is that supposed to mean, Buffy?"

"You're starting to talk like her," Buffy said as she motioned for Kennedy to follow her. "Which is perfectly fine and all, but considering the situation we're facing, you need to fall in line with the others and show some respect. I'm in charge here, Kennedy, and nobody is making any decisions around here but me."

"And you never fail to remind any of us, especially me, that you're General Buffy. What you say goes. Whatever. I'm not one of your little slayer pawns who asks "how high?" when you tell me to jump."

"We don't have time to get into this."

"No, of course not," Kennedy replied, rolling her eyes as she mimicked Buffy's stance by crossing her arms over her chest. "Everything is according to General Buffy's time. So tell me, _boss_, what's the need for this meeting? We got one of them, and you know as well as I do that there's not much we can do with Faith outta commission right now."

Although they were on the verge of fighting, Buffy sighed in defeat as Kennedy smirked coyly. They weren't the best of friends, everyone knew that, but they weren't exactly enemies either. Kennedy tolerated her because she was one of Willow's best friends and because she was _Buffy_. She had a feeling Buffy tolerated her for pretty much the same reason, because she was Willow's girl. Letting it go, she relaxed and offered Buffy a friendly smile, her way of saying sorry without actually having to say it.

"So, what about Faith?"

"What about her?" Buffy asked as they walked down the corridor together. "She's not exactly mobile right now, Kennedy."

"I know, but she should know what's going on. She might be outta commission right now, but that doesn't mean she will be in a week or two, right? So, either we move the meeting to the infirmary or we hook Faith up with one of the laptops and do the webcam thing."

"That's not a bad idea," Buffy said as she came to a stop just outside of Willow and Giles' office. "The webcam thing I mean," she clarified. "I don't think Dr. Ritz would just allow all of us to come into the infirmary to have a meeting there."

"Hey, she kicked me out not too long ago. Something about visiting hours or something," Kennedy said and shrugged. "Didn't think we had those."

"We don't."

They both shrugged and walked into the office. Buffy went right over to Andrew and Xander and began explaining Kennedy's plan to hook Faith up with one of the laptops and broadcast the meeting over webcam for her. Kennedy took a seat on the sofa next to Willow, smiling over at her when Willow looked up from the book she had open in her lap.

"Where's the Neqa'el?"

"You mean Danu?" Willow asked and she pointed to the chair behind Giles' desk where the Neqa'el sat, unchained. "She's right there."

"What the hell is she doing in here? Unchained?"

"She's not a threat, Kenny."

"How do you know that? It could be playing us!"

"She's not an "it"," Willow stated flatly. "Danu is a woman, as human as we are, but not exactly."

Kennedy shook her head angrily, but she kept her mouth shut knowing now was not the time to get into an argument with Willow. Buffy and Andrew disappeared from the office for nearly twenty minutes and when they came back, Andrew had a laptop and set up the webcam. After he worked out a few kinks in the connection between his laptop and the one Faith had, Buffy cleared her throat and looked at each of them.

"We're dealing with something we've never dealt before as you all know. Now I know none of us want to trust Danu, but what other choice do we have right now? She knows everything we don't and can't possibly know about the Neqa'el and how to stop them. Just for once I think we all need to trust this, trust Danu, and find a way to stop this before it gets worse."

"How much worse could it get?" Satsu asked.

"We were banished and cannot return home until the last of the Slayers are defeated and there is only the Chosen One left standing."

"Which would be me?" Faith asked and Kennedy glanced at the screen as saw her roll her eyes. "Slayer line runs through me, don't it? I'll be the last one left standing if we don't stop them, right?"

"But that is not all," Danu said quietly. "We were instructed to take down anyone and anything that stands in our way of fulfilling the task of eliminating your army of Slayers."

"I got a question," Satsu said as she stood from the chair she'd been sitting in. "You guys have powers, don't you?"

"Gifts, yes," Danu nodded.

"Which means what?"

"I have the gift of desiderium. Whatever you long for, wish for, hope for, I can make it happen. My brothers and sisters each have a unique gift. Some have the power to inflict pain with just a look; others have the power to be stronger than anything you've ever faced before."

"And no two share the same gift?" Giles asked.

"Some do, it gets passed on when our souls leave this plane and another comes in our place."

"So," Faith said, breaking the silence that filled the room suddenly. "Can I wish to be healed or what?"

"I can help you heal a little quicker, but I cannot make you heal completely. Selfish wishes don't always come true."

"Say someone else wishes that for me, could it happen then?"

"It will still be a selfish wish," Danu stated. "But I must inform you all that I can only grant each of you one selfless wish."

"I got another question," Faith said and all eyes turned to the screen. "What we want, what we long for, wish for, and hope for; that's all selfish right there, isn't it? I don't get it."

"If it is a desire deep in your heart that's not for yourself, but for the greater good of others, then it is a selfless wish."

"See, that's what I don't get."

"We cannot heal with a wish," Danu said and she sighed as she stood from the chair, her black wings flexing out before she brought them back in. "We can, however, bring back the dead, a one true love perhaps or a loved one that one feels had passed on far too soon."

Kennedy looked over at Willow and saw her eyes light up at that. She knew what Willow was thinking about right then. Tara. Her heart fell because in that moment she knew what Willow would wish for. She knew that Willow would wish for Tara to come back, to be alive and there with her once again and where she belonged.

They moved on from talking about Danu's gift and on to talking about the portal. Kennedy wasn't paying any attention to a word anyone was saying. Her mind just kept going over what Danu had said about a wish. If it came down to it, and she knew it would, Willow would want Tara back. It wasn't a selfish wish. She knew what Tara meant to Willow even to this day. She loved Willow, probably loved her more than she ever loved any of her past girlfriends, but she'd always known right from the start of their relationship that Willow would never quite love her the way she loved Tara. Nobody could ever compete with the love she had for Tara.

"You okay?" Satsu asked as she sat down next to Kennedy.

"I'm fine."

"You're troubled, aren't you?"

"What makes you think that?"

"I can see it, sense it," Satsu replied quietly and she smiled as she took Kennedy's hand in hers and gave it a gentle squeeze. "Everything will be all right. You'll see."

"We'll stand down until the others arrive," Buffy said. "In the meantime, I want you guys to make sure the younger girls stay inside the castle and don't drive themselves insane by not being able to leave. Willow, I'll need you to reinforce the barrier, make it as strong as you can. Kennedy, Satsu, I want you two to keep up with the training schedule and make sure the girls are prepared for the fight we're going to walk into."

"It will get quite cramped when the others begin to arrive, so I trust you all will make the others feel comfortable while they stay here," Giles said and everyone groaned in annoyance. "Andrew, Xander, you two will join myself and Robin when he arrives in one room. We'll move our belongings to Xander's room before they arrive."

Kennedy laughed at the look on Xander's face, the same laugh echoing through the laptop speakers as Faith tried to keep a straight face. Kennedy looked down at her hand still being held by Satsu's and she wasn't the only one who noticed it. Willow shot her a glare that caused her to jerk her hand quickly out of Satsu's with a guilty look on her face. As the others began to leave the office once Buffy declared the meeting over, Kennedy stayed behind with Willow and the Neqa'el, not wanting to leave Willow alone with it for too long.

She was afraid Willow would make the wish for Tara to be brought back. With everything going on, she wasn't so sure she could stand to lose Willow right now. Even though she knew she'd already lost her, losing her completely and seeing her happier than she'd ever been with her would cause her heart to shatter and for her to slowly fall apart.

* * *

Faith closed the laptop lid as Buffy walked into the infirmary. She approached the bed with a smile as Faith struggled to sit up straight. Buffy took the laptop from her and placed it on the table before she sat down in the chair and took Faith's left hand in hers.

"Ken's idea for me to be a part of the meeting, huh?"

"Yeah. She seemed to be pissed off that you weren't going to be in on it," Buffy replied. She let out a soft sigh as she stroked her thumb over Faith's. "How are you feeling right now?"

"Same as before, little better," she shrugged. "Dr. Ritz is gonna kick you out when she finds out you're here right now."

"No she won't. Since I'm _General Buffy_ I have a few privileges over the others."

Faith laughed heartily and she squeezed Buffy's hand. "I bet no General in history has ever been as hot as you, B."

Buffy blushed and smiled at Faith as she brought her hand to her lips and planted a gentle kiss on her knuckles. "Flattery gets you everywhere."

"It does, does it? How about a real kiss then, B?"

"Uh, about that..." Buffy trailed off as she let go of Faith's hand. "We should talk about what's going on between us."

"Thought we already talked about this before?"

"We started to and then we got a little preoccupied with the kissage and then you know, with things going on with Percy arriving here, then the thing in the caves and-"

"B, gonna stop ya before the babble fest comes out," Faith chuckled as she held up her hand. "I'm gonna admit that yeah, this is all sortsa new, not just for you but for me too. It's also a bit scary 'cause I don't know where this is gonna end up with us. Wherever it's going, all I wanna do is do this right."

"Do what right?"

"This, us," Faith said, gesturing between them. "I'd say I want to take you out on a date, but it's not like we can exactly leave the castle these days."

"You want to date me?" Buffy asked. Her eyebrows rose up in surprise when Faith nodded her head and blushed a little. "_You_ want to date _me_? You want to _date_ me?"

"What's so funny?" Faith asked when Buffy let out a soft laugh.

"The whole dating thing."

"Hey, I date. I've dated!"

"No you haven't. One night stands do not count as a date, Faith."

"Okay so I haven't exactly done the dating thing before. Doesn't mean I don't want to try, right?" Faith asked and she stared at Buffy and smiled at her when Buffy shrugged. "Was thinking once the Doc gets me that wheelchair we can take long, leisurely strolls through the corridors. Maybe have dinner together late at night when everyone has gone to bed so we can have some time alone. And if you're a good date, I might even let you kiss me good night and get a little lucky by letting you cop a feel or two."

"You've got a lot to learn about dating, Faith."

"Oh yeah? Dear wise one, enlighten me. There rules or something?"

"No kissing on the first date," Buffy stated, trying to keep a straight face as Faith grumbled and pouted. "There'll definitely be a kiss on the second date, and the third date, well..." Buffy trailed off as Faith cocked her head to the side, totally engrossed in what she was saying. "Well most people just wing the third date and see where it goes."

"So, you're saying that if the first two dates go good then I can get you to put out on the third date?"

Buffy slapped her left arm and laughed. "No! That is so not what I was saying, Faith!"

"So, that happens on like the fourth date then?"

"Maybe," Buffy said coyly as she intertwined her fingers with Faith's.

"How many dates can I fit into one day?" Faith asked, chuckling when Buffy shot her a glare. "What? Just curious, B!"

"One," she said softly. "One date a day, but only once you're healed. And Faith? We're still going to talk about this, about us."

"I thought we were?" Faith asked, completely confused.

If there was one thing she could never understand, it was why Buffy was the way she was at times. She closed her eyes, unable to stop herself from smiling. She'd figure Buffy out, one day, one way or another, and she knew she'd have a helluva time trying to in the meantime.


	9. Chapter 8

**Chapter Eight**

"So, what's gonna happen? You two gonna do some witch-fu on me or something?" Faith asked, uncomfortably shifting in the bed as Willow and the Neqa'el stood on either side.

Willow nodded and turned to the Neqa'el and the two shared a small smile. For the past two days since Faith had woken from her three day coma she hadn't left the infirmary once. Buffy came to talk with her for a couple hours each afternoon. Both days she came with Dawn, Kennedy, Willow, and Xander, never giving the two of them a chance to talk alone. Just that morning Willow had come to her to explain that she and the Neqa'el, Danu, were going to try something together to try to heal her broken bones.

"This gonna hurt?" Faith asked when neither of them spoke. "'Cause if this is gonna hurt I might wanna be like knocked out or take something for the pain at least."

"We do not know," Danu said quietly as she looked down at Faith. "This has never been tried before. Willow suggested we try to heal you together. With my power and hers, it may be possible to heal you completely."

"And if you two fuck it up?"

"You'll remain as you are now."

"Great," Faith muttered and she rolled her eyes. "Well, let's do it then."

"Faith, there's no guarantee this will work," Willow said. "But we do need you to think positive."

"Think positive. Got it."

Willow and Danu held their hands over Faith's body, hovering just over her stomach. Faith held her breath, almost afraid of what would happen, what she would or wouldn't feel. She felt warmth radiating off their hands, through her stomach and slowly overtaking her entire body. It was painless and made her feel as if she was asleep yet awake at the same time. Completely relaxed and feeling free. It lasted all but a couple of seconds before she felt the searing pain shoot through her legs and her broken arm. She let out an anguished cry as the tears rolled down her cheeks and she opened her eyes and looked over at Willow.

"D-didn't work," she gasped. "Fuck that hurt."

"I'm sorry," Willow said shakily. "I don't know why it didn't work."

"When injured by a Neqa'el, it is very severe," Danu stated and she frowned as she took a step back away from the bed. "You will have to let your injuries heal on their own."

"Great. Just fucking great."

"I'm sorry," Willow said again, sighing as she patted Faith's left hand that was clenched at her side. "I really thought it might work, Faith. It should've worked."

"Well it didn't work," Faith snapped. The pain was still unbearable and the morphine drip was doing nothing to numb it. "Got any other genius ideas up your sleeve to heal me up?"

Willow shook her head, looking nervous and upset. She motioned to Danu to follow her and they left the infirmary just as Buffy walked in with a package in her arms. Faith struggled to sit up in the bed and wiped her tears with her left hand.

"Hey," Buffy said quietly as she placed the long skinny package on the bed next to Faith's. "What's going on?"

"Red and that Neqa'el bitch just tried somethin'. Didn't work. Hurt like hell."

"Oh?" Buffy looked confused as she took a seat in the chair that hadn't left Faith's bedside since she'd been in there. "Do you want me to go find Dr. Ritz?"

"Nah, give it a minute. Sure it'll pass."

"Are you hungry? I could go get you something to eat. Andrew baked some of his cookies earlier and I know how much you love those. I could get him to make you a pizza. I know how much you love his pizza. It's been awhile since you've had it, hasn't it? Or if you don't feel like cookies or pizza, maybe I could get you something else?"

"B?" Faith said quietly as she reached for her hand. "I'm not hungry."

"Are you sure?"

"I'm sure," Faith said with a small smile. "What's in the package?"

"Oh," Buffy laughed as she let go of Faith's hand and grabbed the package off the bed. "I uh, I got this for you. I kept meaning to give it to you once you woke up, but you know, forgetful Buffy here when I got other things on my mind."

"Like me for example?"

"Or the apocalypse we're in the middle of, for example," Buffy said, smirking as she placed the package on the edge of the bed next to Faith. "I found out you wanted this, so with Willow's help and extraordinary hacking skills, I got it for you."

Faith's eyes lit up as she opened the package with Buffy's help. Inside was the sword and matching dagger she'd been bugging Giles about for months. She ran her fingers over the shiny, nearly black blade. It sent shivers down her spine and when she looked up at Buffy, she saw Buffy smiling at her.

"B, I-shit, you shouldn't have gotten this for me. You didn't have to get this for me. Giles is gonna shit bricks when he finds out about this. It ain't exactly cheap."

"A simple "thank you" would work here, Faith," Buffy said, still smiling as she put the package back on the bed behind her. "You're welcome."

"Thanks," Faith chuckled and she pulled Buffy closer to her with what strength she had left in her. She wanted to kiss Buffy, not just because of what she'd given her, but because she wanted to. Buffy looked flustered and she pulled back before Faith could kiss her. "Uh, yeah, thanks, B."

Buffy let go of her hand, smiling shyly as she leaned back in the chair. Faith would give anything at that moment to know what was going through her head. This was the first time they'd been alone since their whole "dating rules" talk and Faith couldn't believe she was feeling nervous around Buffy now. Nothing had changed between them aside from a few heated kisses. At least that's what she kept trying to convince herself. They were still friends, weren't they?

"So, you guys find out anything more about how we're gonna deal with the Neqa'el?" Faith asked after a few long minutes of silence settled between them.

"We're working on a plan. The others are heading here to help us with this fight. We're not doing anything until they all get here."

"You think the other Neqa'el that tracked 'em all down are gonna come back this way?"

"That's what we're hoping will happen," Buffy replied. "It might take the others a little while to get here. It's not exactly easy for them to hop on a plane when they have the Neqa'el trying to kill them."

"I'm starting to think we jinxed it. You know, complaining about the lack of action and all. Think we can go back and take it back?"

Buffy laughed as she shook her head. "I don't think that's even possible."

"We got a Neqa'el with the power to grant wishes. I'm sure she could do a little somethin' somethin', yeah?"

"I think it'd fall under the category of selfish wishes," Buffy said and she sighed heavily as Dr. Ritz walked out of her office and headed straight over towards them. "I'll put this in your room for you and come back later, okay?"

"You think you can come back with some pizza?" Faith asked, her stomach growling a little when she realized just how hungry she was. She looked over at Dr. Ritz. "I can have pizza, right Doc?"

"I'm sure it wouldn't hurt," Dr. Ritz replied with a small smile. "Buffy, you don't need to leave. I was just coming to check on Faith and to tell her that the chair I ordered has arrived."

"What do ya say, B? Gonna stick around and help me break outta this joint?"

"I'll put this in your room for you first," Buffy stammered as Dr. Ritz helped Faith sit up and pull the white sheets back. "I'll bring you some clothes too."

Faith couldn't help but stare at Buffy as she quickly made her way out of the infirmary, watching her ass in those low slung jeans she hadn't seen her wear in months. She was leering, practically drooling and Dr. Ritz cleared her throat, pulling her out of her daze. She smirked as the doctor fumbled with her clipboard before she put it down on the table.

The blonde-haired nurse came over to take the bandages off her back and she and the doctor both gasped. Faith looked at them, puzzled at first until she felt the doctor smooth her hand along her back and didn't feel the pain she'd felt there before.

"It's healed. Not even a mark," Dr. Ritz said softly. "Remarkable."

"Shit, it worked," Faith said under her breath. "It fuckin' worked."

"What did?"

"Nothin', Doc," she said quickly. "Hey, one less thing to worry about now, huh?"

"What about your arm? Can you try to move it even in the cast?"

Faith raised an eyebrow at the doctor but complied with her request, surprised when she was able to move her once broken arm in the tight confines of the cast without a single bit of pain. She clenched her right hand into a tight fist and groaned at the slight bit of pain, but knew that her arm was definitely no longer broken, just sore.

"I think we'll need to do a couple of x-rays right now, Faith," Dr. Ritz said as she motioned to the nurse to get the machine ready. "How about the legs? Does it hurt to move your toes?"

Faith managed to wiggle her toes just a little, but still felt the pain, just not nearly as much. Her eyes opened wide in shock. Maybe what Willow and the Neqa'el had done to her did work and it just took a bit of time to soak in and actually heal her. She wasn't sure if she should mention to the doctor what Willow and the Neqa'el had done to her, but she didn't get the chance to since as soon as the nurse returned, she and the doctor wheeled the bed towards the small room where the x-ray machine was.

Half an hour later, Faith was sitting in the wheelchair by the doctor's office waiting for the results when Buffy came back with a pair of her training shorts and a loose fitting black t-shirt. Buffy didn't say anything as she placed Faith's clothes in her lap and took a seat next to her. When Buffy did try to speak, Faith held up her hand and leaned towards the closed office door, trying to hear what Dr. Ritz and the nurse were saying.

"How is this possible?"

"She's a Slayer. They heal rather quickly," Dr. Ritz replied. "Even still, she's got a hairline fracture on her right femur. Her left fibula looks to be healed completely."

"What's going on?" Buffy asked quietly as she reached for Faith's hand. "Faith?"

"Shh, B. I'm trying to find out. What the hell is a femur?"

"Thigh bone?" Buffy shrugged, not looking too sure either. "I think it is. Faith, what the hell is going on?"

"Willow and the Neqa'el worked some witch-fu on me earlier. Thought it didn't work. Now I'm thinking it did. Even that gash on my back is gone. Whatever they did, it fucking worked."

"Really?"

"You forgot the pizza, B."

"I thought I could take you down to the kitchen and we can eat down there. Andrew is cooking one for you right now."

"Homemade?"

Buffy shook her head no. "Frozen. He didn't have any dough."

"Pizza is pizza," Faith shrugged and she straightened up in the chair as the doctor opened the door and stepped out of her office. "What's up, Doc?"

Faith snorted as the doctor rolled her eyes and sat down in the chair next to Buffy's. "That joke will never get old for you, will it, Faith?"

"Nah, you know me, always finding the funny in everything."

"Your arm is healed completely," the doctor said as she held up one of the three x-ray slides she had in her hand. "Your left leg looks to be healed as well, but your right thigh still has a bit of ways to go. You'll need rehabilitation to get back on your feet. Your femur tore a few ligaments when it broke. You won't be able to go out on patrol or even get around on your own two feet for at least another week."

"Another week? Shit," Faith sighed and she shrugged. "So, take the damn casts off, Doc. They're itchy as hell, you know that?"

"Lucy will remove the casts. The one on your right leg needs to stay on for a couple more days to make sure your femur heals properly."

"Lucy?" Faith asked, confused at who the hell Lucy was. The doctor pointed to the blonde-haired nurse and Faith could only laugh. "Right. Okay, Luce, get these things off. I got me a date with General B here."

"It's not a date," Buffy stammered, her face going three shades of red as the doctor and Lucy looked at Buffy in mild surprise. "It's just pizza. Frozen pizza."

"It's a date. Pizza is food and food equals a date."

"It's _not_ a date," Buffy said through clenched teeth as she got up from her chair. "It's just pizza."

"Chill out, B," Faith laughed as Lucy wheeled her over to the bed. "I'm just messin' with ya."

Buffy rolled her eyes as she walked over to the other end of the infirmary, going through the many magazines stacked on a small shelf by the door. Faith kept her eyes on Buffy as the nurse took a small saw and cut away her casts carefully. She wondered if Buffy had forgotten their whole "dating" talk they had a few days ago and if she'd gone and slipped into denial mode since then. She took her eyes away from Buffy when the nurse helped her slip on the shorts and t-shirt that Buffy had brought for her.

"Got like a hair band or anything?" Faith asked the nurse quietly. "Bet my hair looks wicked nasty right now."

"Here," she replied as she took one of three hair bands she had on her wrist. "And your hair looks fine, Faith."

"Thanks."

"Uh, I didn't know you and Buffy were-"

"Kinda," Faith shrugged, cutting her off before Buffy caught wind of their conversation. "Long story. Still trying to figure it all out for myself. Do I look good enough for a "not date" date?"

"You look fine," Lucy said with a smile as soon as Faith had pulled her hair back into a loose ponytail. "Just take it easy, okay? I don't want to see you back in here because you broke that arm or leg again from trying to push yourself too hard too fast."

"No worries, Luce. I ain't planning to be back in here anytime soon. Unless you wanna give me one more sponge bath, just for old times' sake, you know?"

Lucy laughed and started cleaning up the broken halves of cast from the bed before she helped Faith back into the wheelchair. Faith tested the strength in her right arm, feeling it tingling slightly as she tried to move the chair forward. It took her a minute to get the hang of it and she rolled up behind Buffy and playfully slapped her on the ass to get her attention.

"Faith!"

"Ready to roll, B?"

"Yeah," Buffy nodded, the blush on her face seeming to be permanently there since the whole "not date" thing was discussed in front of the doctor and the nurse. "Do you want me to push you?"

Faith shrugged and let Buffy push her out of the infirmary. She hated being dependent, but if Buffy wanted to do that for her-as little as it was-she was going to let her. They didn't speak as Buffy pushed her down the corridor and came to a stop at the elevator. It felt good to be out of that bed, but she knew she was still a long way from being able to get on her own two feet and join Buffy and the others in the fight they had ahead of them. She wanted to be there at Buffy's side where she belonged when the fight began, but she knew she wouldn't be. She'd have to sit this one out until she was healed and strong enough to fight at her best.

As much as her mind was on the apocalypse they were facing, her mind was also on what was happening between her and Buffy. Their friendship had changed in the course of a week. Her feelings for Buffy, feelings she'd always pushed down and chalked up to pent up frustration, were coming back and then some. She knew Buffy had to be feeling something, something more than just those friendly feelings they'd been feeling since Sunnydale.

"So, you're sure this ain't a date, B?" Faith asked as the elevator doors opened and Buffy pushed her inside. "I know it ain't no fancy dinner or nothing."

"Do you want this to be a date?"

"It could be a "not date" date," Faith shrugged. "That way I can get a kiss when you take me back to my room later."

She smirked when Buffy only rolled her eyes, but she saw the small half-smile slip out before Buffy turned her head away. The elevator ride was quick and the doors opened to the sounds of a bustling kitchen. Andrew was busy chasing the younger slayers away from the pizza cooling on the counter.

"Thank god," he said as Buffy pushed Faith towards the counter. "I can't fight them off for much longer! I kept telling them that the pizza is for Faith."

"Thanks, dude," Faith said, smiling as the girls in the kitchen all grumbled in annoyance.

"You don't have your other casts on?" Andrew asked as Buffy put a couple of slices on the two plates that were sitting on the counter next to the pizza. "Did you heal up?"

"Almost," Faith replied. "Hey, Andy? How about once we deal with these Neqa'el bitches you make us your famous pizza? Ain't nothing beats your pizza, dude."

"Just as long as you stop stealing my hot pockets!"

"Hey!" Faith laughed. "I've been in a fuckin' bed for what, a week now? Any hot pockets that have gone missing in that time definitely ain't been me."

"I know," Andrew said sadly. "I missed having you steal them."

"You're like a sadist or something, ain't ya, Andy?" Faith chuckled and ignored the evident eye roll Buffy gave her as she handed her both plates of pizza. "Thanks for the grub, though. Appreciate it."

"Anytime, Faith," Andrew said with a smile and Buffy pushed her back towards the elevator as the younger slayers began to hound Andrew about how he never cooks them what they want when they want.

"Where we goin', B?"

"Somewhere quiet," Buffy replied, heading back to the elevator. "You know, if this "not date" date is gonna work, we can't exactly be around everyone else." Buffy smiled at her and pushed her into the elevator as soon as the doors opened. She swatted Faith's hand away before she could grab a piece of pizza. "Not until we get there. Don't be so rude, Faith."

"I'm fuckin' _starving_."

"Just wait for five minutes."

Faith groaned and quickly stole a piece of pepperoni as soon as Buffy turned her back to her to hit the third button. She grinned, dimples on full display as Buffy turned to look back down at her with a disapproving glare. She wiggled her eyebrows and laughed when Buffy let a small smile slip out. She had a feeling that even when Buffy wasn't too pleased with her, all it was going to take was a show of the dimples and the eyebrow wiggle to get her to loosen up. Nobody ever could resist the dimples, not even Buffy.

Buffy pushed her out of the elevator as soon as it stopped on the third floor. She headed for the balcony door at the end of the corridor and pushed her out as soon as she opened the heavy wood door. The sun was low in the sky, about to set, and Faith could see the faintest glow of the barrier that surrounded the grounds. The fresh air was a welcome relief and Faith closed her eyes, taking in a deep breath and feeling her whole body react to being outside after spending nearly a week in the infirmary.

"I almost wish we did this before," Buffy said quietly as she took her plate from Faith's lap and leaned up against the stone ledge. "This is kind of nice, isn't it?"

"Sure," Faith shrugged and she took a bite of her pizza, suddenly not feeling as hungry as she thought she was. "And when you say before, you mean before this Neqa'el business started going down, right?"

Buffy nodded, but she looked a little distant, lost in her own thoughts. Faith was lost in her own thoughts too and she tried not to let them consume her as she forced herself to eat the pizza on her plate. She was lost in remembering the dreams she had of moments like this, dreams she'd laughed off when she woke since she knew this wasn't how she was, who she was. Maybe she'd been wrong about herself her whole life and just now she was beginning to wake up. Whatever it was, she wouldn't trade this moment for anything else.

When Buffy went to take the plates inside, Faith moved quickly, pulling her down onto her lap and took the plates out of her hand and leaned over to put them on the ground next to the chair. Easily she wrapped her arms around Buffy and smiled at her, not allowing herself to get lost in those hazel eyes for too long before she turned to look at the sun as it set beyond the horizon.

Faith inhaled deeply, feeling intoxicated by the pure smell of Buffy being so close. It made her head swim, her heart race, her lips ache for a kiss. So she took that kiss, leaning in and planting a soft kiss on Buffy's neck. A small sigh escaped Buffy's lips that made Faith smile and she moved her hand to cup her head gently and guided Buffy's lips to hers. Her whole body was humming as she felt Buffy's tongue slip past her slightly parted lips, deepening the kiss. She guided Buffy's left hand to rest on her shoulder and she felt Buffy shiver slightly as she ran her hand along Buffy's arm slowly.

She felt Buffy hold her breath as her hand brushed the side of her breast. Feeling bold, wanting to cop a feel even if it broke their moment, their kiss, she kept kissing Buffy as she ran her thumb over the soft curve of Buffy's breast before moving her hand to cup it gently. Buffy let out an appreciative moan, arching her back and pushing herself more into Faith's wandering hand. She felt the nipple harden under her soft yet insistent caresses. She'd taken it one step too far already and there was no stopping her from taking it just that little bit further.

"Stop," Buffy whispered against her lips as Faith's hand trailed down her side and found the hem of her shirt. "That's a little too much right now."

"Guess it was a little too much by breaking your first date rules, huh?" Faith chuckled as she leaned back and smiled at Buffy. "Gotta say I really couldn't help myself. My lips and hand seem to have a mind of their own."

Buffy laughed and shook her head, her hand moving to the back of Faith's neck and gently stroking the skin there. She watched as Buffy closed her eyes when she slipped her hand under the hem of her shirt, finding the warm skin to be nearly scalding against the palm of her hand. Just as Buffy was about to kiss her again, they were broken apart by the loud cry that came from just beyond the barrier.

"This sucks," Faith muttered, stealing a quick kiss from Buffy before Buffy got up from her lap. "How many do ya think are out there?"

"No idea," Buffy shrugged and she picked up the plates from the ground and let out a heavy sigh. "Just once I'd like to have a normal life. Is that too much to ask?" Buffy said angrily as she shook her head and laughed. "God, all I've ever wanted was a normal life and a normal relationship and a normal family."

"Key word here is normal," Faith chuckled and she reached for Buffy's hand and gave her a small, reassuring smile. "You'll get your normal one day, B. Don't lose hope now. But I gotta tell ya, normal definitely ain't interesting. It's downright boring and predictable."

Faith knew exactly how Buffy felt about the "normal" thing. She'd heard her talk about it back on those days when they'd managed to talk more openly with each other. Of all the things that Buffy wanted in that normal life, Faith knew she wanted Sunnydale to still be there, her mom still alive, and her chance to take a break from what their lives had become. Faith didn't feel the same way as Buffy did. She accepted this life, her calling, and everything that came with it. She'd never known what normal could be, but she knew Buffy had it once and that she longed for that in her life once again. It's what set Buffy apart as a slayer, and the only person Buffy had admitted to that she would quit in a heartbeat if she could had been Faith. It also proved they were very different in how they viewed the world and everyone around them.

Faith tensed as she glanced up over the trees and saw very faintly against the darkening sky dozens of Neqa'el fly past the barrier, turning quickly and going the way they'd come. Buffy had seen them too and she still hadn't taken her eyes off the sky.

"See, B? _This_ is our normal. Almost about time you accepted that," Faith said. She watched Buffy shake her head sadly. "This is what we've been born for, what we've been called for, chosen for."

"I know. I'm just so tired of this, Faith. After this, if we make it, I'm done."

Faith nodded, not knowing what to say. She'd heard Buffy say it before, but this time it sounded different. This time she truly felt the sadness and longing for a different life heavy in Buffy's voice. Buffy moved to wheel her back inside and they didn't speak as Buffy took her to her room.

After everything she'd been through in the last week, that moment with Buffy out on the balcony had made her feel as if she was somewhere else. She wanted that feeling to continue; she wanted it to last for as long as forever. She had to get her head out of the place it was starting to run towards. She needed to be focused on the apocalypse at hand, _not_ with fanatical ideas of a life she'd never have.


	10. Chapter 9

**Chapter Nine**

Buffy ended up staying with Faith in her room. She didn't want to deal with anything at the moment. She helped Faith onto the bed and laid down next to her. She reached for Faith's hand wordlessly, intertwining their fingers together as she laid her head on Faith's shoulder. She was so tired and not tired in the physical sense, more so in the emotional sense. With their hands trapped between their bodies, Buffy moved her left hand over Faith's stomach slowly.

"I don't want to fight this without you, Faith."

"Gotta heal up first, B. Gonna take a little bit of time unless Red and Danu work their witch-fu on me again and get this leg of mine healed up."

"They don't even know it worked," Buffy said softly as she lifted her head and looked at Faith. "I should have told them that it worked."

"Can it wait 'til tomorrow? Kinda enjoying this."

"Hmm, me too," Buffy smiled as she laid her head back down on Faith's shoulder.

Buffy felt at peace for the first time in a very long time despite the apocalypse that was surrounding them at the moment. She wanted to tell Faith that when she quit, she wanted Faith to come with her wherever she'd go and to stay with her wherever she ended up. She wanted more nights like tonight, but without those supernatural beings ruining her moment with Faith. All she wanted to "ruin" the moment was her insecurities when it came to taking things further than a kiss. A soft hum had filled her body as soon as she'd laid down next to Faith. Even when she'd kissed her, that hum had pulled her in and she wanted more. So much more.

But she needed to know where this was going. She wasn't blind or stupid. She knew Faith had feelings for her. It was evident, so clear and right in her face just as it had been for a long time, probably longer than she was willing to admit herself.

"Faith?"

"Yeah?" Faith asked, her voice so quiet Buffy barely heard her.

"What's going on between us?"

"Well, right now we're cuddling and I can safely say that ain't somethin' I normally do," Faith replied with a chuckle. "I don't know what's going on between us, B. All I know is that whatever's happening, I ain't gonna do a damn thing to stop it. Tired of fighting what I feel. Tired of trying to convince myself I don't feel the way I do about ya."

"And how do you feel about me?"

"You're gonna make me say it again, huh? Don't know if I can say it again right now."

Buffy sighed, understanding what she meant. She couldn't even say it. She wasn't sure how to get the words out. Love was always an uneasy subject and feeling for her. She hadn't had the greatest luck in love so far in her life, but she was open to the idea of it, maybe a little too open if she was willing to let it happen with Faith. Faith on the other hand, she could have anyone she wanted, however she wanted them, and yet she'd chosen Buffy this time around. Thinking back, she hadn't recalled Faith talking about seeing anyone, even casually, and that alone made her wonder if Faith had truly changed from who she'd been before.

She'd changed too. She barely recognized who she'd become since the fall of Sunnydale. Every day had been routine. Wake up, shower, eat, have a cup of coffee or two, meetings with Willow and Xander, training, meetings with Kennedy, Satsu, sometimes Faith if she was even awake at the time, more training, dinner, patrol, sleep, and repeat. The Neqa'el showing up had thrown everything off balance, and even though she was almost thankful for the change in their everyday pace, she missed how...easy things had been before.

"When you quit, where ya gonna go?" Faith asked, pulling her from her thoughts. "You think about that yet or what?"

"I don't know. Someplace where there's no vampires or demons crawling around to make my life a living hell."

"Impossible."

"I know," Buffy sighed and she turned her head and inhaled before she planted a soft kiss on Faith's neck. "I just want a break. Six months minimum. No slayer stuff, just normal life stuff. The only thing I want to worry about is what I'm gonna cook for dinner."

"You can't cook," Faith chuckled and Buffy pinched her stomach. "Well, I know you can cook, but it kinda sucks."

"I'll take lessons."

"I could teach ya," Faith said with a shrug and Buffy lifted her head to look at her. "What, you don't think I can teach ya how to cook, B?"

"I never said that."

"It'll be fun. Soon as I'm back on my feet and we deal with this Neqa'el business, I'll teach ya the basics starting with breakfast. Soon as ya master the art of cooking eggs, you can make me breakfast in bed."

Buffy laughed and rolled her eyes as Faith smiled deeply, her dimples flashing. It was a smile like that that made Buffy's heart race. Without even thinking about it, she leaned in and pressed her lips softly against Faith's. She felt the smile against her lips before Faith pulled back. She didn't even need to ask, she just knew Faith was tired. It was just meant to be a simple kiss, nothing more, nothing less.

"Ya gonna head off for the night, B?"

"I'll stay here if you want?" Buffy said softly as she laid her head back down on Faith's shoulder. "But only if you want me to."

"If I say no, you ain't gonna be pissed, are ya?"

"No," Buffy replied and she moved to get up from the bed slowly. "I was getting clingy there, wasn't I?"

"Don't mind the clingy. I just want a little time to myself. You get me, B?"

Buffy nodded, pausing before she stood up from the bed, wanting to kiss her again, but held herself back this time. They were still a long way from being...whatever they were on their way to being. Buffy still wasn't too clear on that. There was kissage and the subtle groping on Faith's part, but there wasn't much more there other than unspoken feelings they both had.

"With that many Neqa'el we just saw outside, I'm betting Wood and his team are here now."

"You're probably right," Buffy sighed and she straightened out her clothes as she slid off the bed. "Do you need me to get you anything?"

"Not a cripple here, B. I need anything I can manage."

_Wow, what's with the attitude?_ Buffy shook off Faith's sudden change and made her way to the door. "Goodnight, Faith."

With that, Buffy left, closing the door behind her and letting out a heavy sigh when it clicked shut behind her. She headed straight down for the control room, already hearing the sound of Robin Wood's voice as he, Xander, and Andrew discussed the latest gadgets and gizmos. She stopped short of the control room door, not quite ready to face Robin at the moment. Things were still awkward between them for reasons she'd rather forget.

"Where've you been?" Dawn asked, managing to sneak up on her, which was never an easy feat unless she was distracted. "I've been looking all over for you and for Faith. Do you know she's out of the infirmary? All healed up? Well, almost all healed up."

"I know. We were out on the balcony...talking. She's in her room now."

"Vi and Rona are with their team down in the common room," Dawn said and she grabbed onto Buffy's arm before she could walk away. "Can we talk?"

Buffy hesitated for a moment before nodding. Whenever Dawn wanted to talk and used that tone, it always made her feel a little uneasy. Her little sister had grown and matured so much since Sunnydale, but underneath it all she was still the same old Dawn. Whatever Dawn wanted to talk to her about, she knew she would regret agreeing to have a talk in the first place. When she saw that pointed glare Dawn gave her, she knew it wasn't going to end well at all.

* * *

It was sometime after three in the morning when Faith woke up with a jolt. It wasn't a dream or a nightmare that had woken her. She wasn't even sure what had. She struggled to get out of the bed and into the chair, cursing under her breath as the dull pain throbbed through her right thigh.

She'd always liked this time at night. The castle was quiet and dark as everyone slept in their rooms, the younger slayers in the two dorms. It made her feel alone and at peace, two things she'd never felt until she'd followed Buffy and the Scoobs there to Scotland after Sunnydale. She managed to get the door open and wheeled herself out into the corridor. She hated being so limited, but the chair wasn't that bad. She headed for the elevator, stopping at Buffy's door on the way.

Buffy was in there, she could feel her. She could always feel her even before they'd met back in the day. She never told Buffy this, but when she'd been called that night she felt full, she felt in that one breath that she wasn't alone. It was a feeling that had driven her emotions wild when she'd finally came face to face with Buffy that night in the alley behind the Bronze. It was the same feeling, those same emotions she was feeling now, but this time it was different. She was allowing it to consume her, not drive her away and insane with the madness that came with trying to repress it all.

As much as she'd wanted Buffy to stay with her, she needed some time to herself. She regretted it now though, just wanting to reach out and hold Buffy close to her. She wasn't used to having thoughts like this, not about Buffy or anyone else either. It made her wonder just how hard she'd been hit on the head by that Neqa'el down in the caves.

Faith rubbed her throbbing temples before moving towards the elevator. She reached for the button and sighed heavily as she heard Buffy's bedroom door open. She turned to look over at Buffy and she couldn't stop the smirk from slipping out as Buffy leaned against the doorframe, arms crossed over her chest. She was wearing the most ridiculous pair of cow pajama pants and a plain white tank top.

"What are you doing?"

"Goin' down to get somethin' to eat, B."

"At three in the morning?"

"Why not?" Faith shrugged as the elevator door slid open. "You comin'?"

Buffy sighed and quickly made her way to the elevator as Faith wheeled in. Buffy hit the button and crossed her arms as she stared down at Faith. "Dawn knows."

"About?"

"Us."

"How does she-"

"She saw us out on the balcony," Buffy cut her off. "She kept asking me all these questions. She thinks I'm under some kind of a spell or something. I told her that was ridiculous and that the way I feel about you is not because of some spell."

Faith tried to read Buffy's thoughts about how she was feeling now that Dawn knew about the two of them. But her face was nearly expressionless as she let out a heavy sigh, closing her eyes as she leaned against the wall.

"Might be though," Faith said quietly. "A spell I mean. Hell, you and I both know anything is possible."

"It's not a spell, Faith."

"How do you know for sure?"

"Because I've felt this way for a long time," Buffy blurted out. Buffy's face went red as Faith stared up at her in mild shock. "Yeah, _so_ not riding the denial train anymore. There's no point. But this? You and me? This isn't happening because of some spell or anything like that, Faith. It's happening because it's meant to happen now."

Faith had no words; she could only look up at Buffy feeling a bit dazed by her honesty. Before she could say anything, the elevator came to a stop and the doors slid open. Buffy moved behind Faith and pushed her out quickly. The kitchen was dark aside from the light on over the big stove. Buffy went straight for the fridge and pulled out one of the yogurt cups, offering Faith one before she grabbed a spoon and leaned up against the counter. Faith grabbed and apple out of the bowl on the table after a bit of an effort to reach it and she bit into it, unable to take her eyes off of Buffy.

"You aren't going to say anything?"

"About what?" Faith asked, feigning innocence at the question. Buffy rolled her eyes, looking annoyed and Faith couldn't help but smirk a little at that. "What do you want me to say, B?"

"I don't know. Something. Anything."

"Well," Faith drawled out and paused to take another bite of her apple. "I could ask ya just how long a long time is, but I think it's better if I don't know."

"Right," Buffy sighed and she stared down at the yogurt in her hand. "I thought it'd be easier now."

"Easier?"

"To talk to you."

"You're talkin' to me, B," Faith chuckled and she moved to toss the apple core into the garbage before she folded her hands in her lap. "Maybe it's not easier 'cause you're thinkin' of using that mouth of yours in a different way right now."

Buffy laughed and placed her half-eaten yogurt on the counter behind her. "Maybe," she said coyly and Faith winked at her, loving the fact that she was pretty much right. "I was sleeping and all of a sudden woke up. I'm not sure what it was, but then I...I felt you."

"So ya feel it too then?"

"Always have."

"It's like bein' drunk," Faith said quietly. "The buzz I get. Pulls me in, surrounds me. It feels like you're _in_ me and it makes me have all sortsa naughty thoughts."

Buffy blushed and her eyes darted away from Faith's intense stare. Just as she was about to say something, the soft footsteps coming from the corridor that led to the kitchen broke whatever moment they were having. Kennedy walked into the kitchen, looking a little surprised to find them both in there.

"Hey," Kennedy said with a nod as she walked over to the refrigerator and pulled out a bottle of water. "Couldn't sleep either, huh?"

"This is weird," Buffy said under her breath. "What are the chances we're all unable to sleep tonight?"

"I couldn't sleep because Willow and I have been fighting most of the night," Kennedy said with a heavy sigh. "I think it's over."

"Over?" Buffy asked, frowning when Kennedy nodded her head. "Wow. So never thought that'd happen."

"She doesn't love me. I know it, she knows it, and everyone else here knows it. We keep trying, but I'm tired of trying. And now that she's spending a lot of time with Danu, she doesn't want to be around me at all. Almost starting to wonder if there's something going on between those two."

"Don't be ridiculous," Buffy laughed and she picked up her half-eaten yogurt. "Willow wouldn't do that. She and Danu are just figuring out how to stop this before things get any worse."

"Whatever," Kennedy scoffed.

"I'm gonna go..." Buffy said wearily and she looked down at Faith and frowned. "Goodnight, Faith. Kennedy."

As soon as Buffy had left the kitchen, Faith wheeled over to Kennedy and slugged her in the shoulder, hard. Kennedy groaned as she rubbed her arm. It had hurt. Faith really punched her with almost all her strength.

"What the fuck was that for?"

"For comin' down here and ruining the moment I was having with Buffy!"

"Take a chill pill, Faith," Kennedy grumbled. "I didn't know you were down here. So, you two were having a moment?"

"We were talking."

"About?"

"Our connection. Slayer connection," Faith replied. "Your timing fuckin' sucks, Ken."

"Jesus, I'm sorry! I told you I didn't know you two were down here. Besides," Kennedy said and paused to take a sip of her water, "you know as well as I do that getting alone time doesn't happen here. Too many people live here and with the team from Cleveland and the one from Italy here, it's getting cramped."

"They're here?"

"Yeah," Kenned nodded. "Robin, Rona, Vi and the team from Italy just got in maybe less than two hours ago. How's the leg feeling by the way?"

"Sore, not as bad as yesterday though. Where are they all sleeping?"

"Most of them are in the dorms with our girls. Robin is bunking with Xander. Vi and Rona completely took over Dawn's room," Kennedy replied and they both laughed at that. "Yeah, as you can imagine, Dawnie isn't too happy about that. She's like you and Buffy when it comes to her personal space."

"You wanna talk about what's goin' on with you and Willow?"

"It's over."

"Just like that, Ken? Gonna give up the woman you love 'cause you've lost the fight in ya? You know what? I think you're just a pussy. Too afraid to stand up and claim your woman, win her back."

"I didn't want to say it in front of Buffy, but I overheard her and Danu talking earlier. She wants Tara to come back and I think...I think Danu is going to do it for her."

"No fuckin' way. Wouldn't that be a selfish wish?"

"Yeah you'd think it would be, right?" Kennedy sighed. "Apparently it's not selfish when it comes to _true_ love."

"So, that's it then, huh?" Faith asked, shaking her head, not able to believe what she was hearing. "What you gonna do now?"

"I wanted to leave, but I've been thinking about it and I know I'm better off here with all of you even if things get pretty fucking awkward between me and Willow. So...I was thinking maybe I could bunk with you for a little while."

"You're sleeping on the fuckin' floor," Faith replied, trying to keep a straight face as Kennedy scoffed and crossed her arms over her chest. "Guess it's a good thing Buffy went clean crazy on my room."

"God knows what you had living under those piles of clothes on your floor."

Faith laughed and grabbed another apple from the bowl and took a bite. "Do ya think she'll really get Danu to bring Tara back?"

"It could happen."

"Wonder if I could make one of those wishes for Buffy."

"What kind of a wish?"

"She wants a normal life. I think she wants her mom back, Sunnydale to still be there, stuff like that. This whole slayer gig isn't what she wants anymore."

"It's not her choice in what she wants. She's been destined to be a Slayer. It's her Calling and she knows it better than any of us do."

"She died. Twice. I don't think she's ever been the same since she was brought back."

"We all heard the story before," Kennedy replied bitterly. "You'd honestly do that for Buffy?"

"I'd do anything for her. Got my ass beat for her down in the caves, so yeah."

"You were ready to die for her. I can't believe you'd do that for her."

"Wouldn't you do that for someone ya love, Ken?"

"Depends," Kennedy replied with a shrug. "You know me. I'm a selfish brat. The only life I'm saving is my own."

"Good to know you have my back," Faith chuckled and she playfully slugged Kennedy in the shoulder. "Come on. Let's get some sleep. Who knows what kind of a day we got ahead of us."

"Probably another day in Hell," Kennedy said, smirking as she wheeled Faith towards the elevator.

* * *

Buffy paced the floor in the control room, stopping every couple of seconds to glance at the monitors. She had stayed last night and listened to Kennedy and Faith's conversation and what Faith had said had been stuck in her mind since. But she had other things to worry about such as the dozens of Neqa'el that had been spotted flying around the barrier, trying to find a way in since dawn. Danu informed them that one of her brothers had a sword they'd need and the plan was for them to go down, fight, retrieve said sword and bring it back. The only thing missing was the Priest they needed to bless the sword, but Giles had Percy working on that.

"Will, how long is that barrier going to hold?" Buffy asked as she turned to face Willow.

"I'm not sure. I reinforced it an hour ago."

"Satsu?"

"Ma'am?"

"Round all the girls up and get the weapons ready," Buffy said firmly. Satsu nodded and quickly exited the control room with Kennedy following close behind. "Robin?"

"Yes?" Robin said from where he stood leaned up against Andrew's desk.

"I need you to get a squad together to protect the castle in case they get past the barrier before we reach them," Buffy said and smiled a little when Robin nodded and left without a word. She turned to Giles and took a deep breath. "How soon are the others going to be here?"

"Within the hour," Giles replied. "The coven in England is working on teleporting them here safely."

"Where's Faith?" Buffy asked as she looked around the room. "Don't tell me she's still sleeping."

"Your guess is as good as mine," Xander replied and he chuckled uneasily as Buffy scowled and headed for the door. "Buff? Where are you going?"

"I need to talk to her, let her know what's going on. She might not be able to fight, but she deserves to know what's about to happen."

Buffy ran up to the third floor, panting slightly as she reached Faith's closed bedroom door. Finding it locked, she let out a soft growl and knocked loudly. She stopped and listened, hearing nothing, and resumed pounding on the door.

"What?" Faith called out from beyond the door and Buffy sighed out softly and waited for her to unlock the door. "B, what the hell?"

"I uh," Buffy said and took a deep breath as she looked at Faith in only a robe, the cast on her leg covered with what looked like a garbage bag and her hair dripping wet. "Were you having a shower?"

"Attempting it," Faith chuckled. "And look, I can actually almost walk with this thing on my leg. Gonna take a good guess and say I'm pretty much healed up now even though it hurts like hell."

"You shouldn't be walking," Buffy said quietly and helped her over to the bed. "You know that Dr. Ritz wants you to do the whole rehabilitation thing once you're healed. Just 'cause you're a slayer doesn't mean you're..."

"I'm what?" Faith asked, cocking her head to the side. "Ya seem to forget when I woke up from that coma I bounced back pretty quickly. Ain't nothing holds me back for long, B."

"Right," Buffy nodded, choosing not to remember that particular memory at the moment. "I uh, I came to tell you what's happening today. Soon actually."

"What's happening?"

"We're going after them. There's too many, Faith. We need to fight. We need to try to bring down their numbers as much as we can. There's a sword we need and we're going down to get it."

"And I'm gonna take a wild guess and figure you're all goin' into this fight without me, huh?"

"You're not-"

"I know that!" Faith spat. "Jesus, Buffy, things could get really bad."

"Even if you were there it could get really bad too, Faith. We have to do something. Willow's barrier won't hold out forever. I want you there, but you're better off to stay right here. I'm not letting you fight when you have a cast on your leg that's still pretty broken."

"What's the plan then?"

"We're going to fight, kill as many as we can then retreat as soon as we get the sword we're going down there for."

"Not gonna be that easy," Faith said and she closed her eyes, breathing heavily. Buffy knew she was pissed and trying to control it, but when Faith's anger bubbled inside of her, it always ended up coming out one way or another. "Just don't get yourself killed, B."

"I won't."

"Who's stayin' behind to protect the vulnerable?"

"Robin is getting a squad together."

"Whatever. Guess you know best, huh?"

"Faith..." Buffy sighed, hating the way Faith was closing herself off. "If it was any different, we wouldn't be having this talk right now."

"Nah, we'd be out there fightin' side by side like we should be."

Buffy forced a smile, almost leaning down to kiss her, but stopped herself when Faith only laid back on the bed and closed her eyes as she let out a quiet, annoyed grunt. Buffy left her room, stealing one last glance at Faith before she closed the door behind her.

She needed to get her mind off of Faith, of what was going on between the two of them-or lack thereof now it seemed-and get her mind on the fight they were about to walk into. But all she wanted was to go back to where they'd been last night, when they'd been in Faith's room just lying there, talking, before Faith basically kicked her out. They had miles to go before their "relationship" was anything close to a normal and real relationship, but she was ready for the ride even if it meant trying to find love in the middle of an apocalypse and fighting a completely different fight to make it work out in the end.


	11. Chapter 10

**Chapter Ten**

Faith sat in the control room watching the monitors with Andrew and Xander. Over the last handful of months, the technology they had kept growing and she was thoroughly impressed with Andrew in hooking Buffy, Satsu, and Kennedy up with headpieces that had a small camera attached on the end. Xander explained how the Initiative had a lot of the same things tech wise, but she glossed over and tried to listen and watch as Buffy, Kennedy, and Satsu led the girls across the field towards the barrier.

"Andy?" Faith turned to look at him. "Got any popcorn or anything?"

Andrew jumped up from his chair he'd pulled up next to Faith's and ran to his desk, coming back not even a minute later with a bag of plain chips. "All I have."

"Thanks," Faith said as she grabbed the bag from him and opened it. "What, Xand?"

"Nothing."

"Want some?"

"Already ate, thanks," he muttered and crossed his arms over his chest as he turned his attention back to the monitors. He picked up his headset and slipped it on. "Buff, incoming about half a mile from you. There are twenty of them just waiting."

"We're not even out of the barrier yet."

"Seems like they aren't waiting for you in the caves this time."

"Great," Buffy said and Faith could only imagine she was rolling her eyes at the moment. "How are things holding up?"

"No breach yet. Robin and his squad are at the ready just in case."

"Did Tweed get that priest yet?"

Faith chuckled as Xander cast a look back at her. It was bad enough Kennedy had started talking like Willow sometimes and now Buffy was beginning to do the same thing. He shook his head and continued to speak with Buffy briefly before ending the transmission between them. Faith was itching to be out there with Buffy and the others and it was making her whole body twitch knowing she had to sit this fight out.

"Where's Willow?" Faith asked Andrew quietly, looking over the monitors that were placed around the castle. "She didn't go out there with them, did she?"

"No," Andrew replied and he reached for the bag of chips and took a handful. "She and Danu are up on the roof and ready just in case the barrier does fail."

"And the others?"

"Mr. Giles is with Dawn and Percy trying to track down a priest. Mr. Giles said he would call as soon as they found one," Andrew said quickly. "They're past the barrier now."

Faith leaned forward in the chair a little before moving to sit closer to the monitors. She picked at her cast, wanting nothing more than to be right next to Buffy walking into this fight. Buffy had the scythe and whenever Kennedy or Satsu stole a glance at Buffy, she felt an undeniable burn of arousal surge through her body seeing Buffy wielding the scythe and looking every bit the powerful Slayer she was.

"Word just came in from the squads that didn't make it," Xander said as he checked over his phone. "Body count is up to thirty-five."

"Shit," Faith muttered and she continued picking at her cast, feeling the plaster slowly begin to crumble bit by bit. "Come on, B," she said under her breath. "Get in, get that sword and get the hell out."

"It'll be okay, Faith," Andrew said with a smile as he patted her on the shoulder. "She'll get it."

"I know," Faith said, forcing a smile and forcibly removing Andrew's hand off her shoulder. "Xand, let Buffy know the count is up."

"Where are you going?" Xander asked as Faith turned the chair around and headed for the door.

"I'm going to see an angel and a witch about working some more of that witch-fu on me. I am _not_ sitting out on this fight. I don't care what any of them say."

* * *

Buffy came to a stop and held up the scythe as she signalled the rest of the slayers to stop as well. They were at the edge of the barrier and just beyond it, dozens of Neqa'el waited. Her heart was racing, her body tingling in anticipation of the fight they were seconds away from running head first into. She looked over the Neqa'el, looking for the one Danu described. She saw him at the back of the group, his blond hair so bright it glowed under the midday sun.

The plan was not to eliminate the Neqa'el, just to fight until they got what they'd come for. It wouldn't be an even fight, not for the Neqa'el at least. There were at least three slayers to every Neqa'el faced before them. Buffy took a deep breath, letting her confidence calm her frazzled nerves. They'd make it through this fight, she'd get the sword they needed and that'd be that.

_If only it could be that easy_, Buffy thought as she gripped onto the scythe and made the signal for the others to step past the barrier.

Buffy ran forward, Kennedy and Satsu flanking each side, fighting off the Neqa'el that charged for them. She ducked away from a sword, feeling the tip slice the side of her head. It was just a scratch, barely, and she took a deep breath, ducking away again as the Neqa'el took another strike. Kennedy used her sword, stabbing the Neqa'el in the stomach as Buffy dropped to the ground and rolled forward and away from them.

She leapt to her feet, swinging the scythe at two Neqa'el that got too close to her. She dodged out of the way, to the left quickly, sweeping her leg around to send the one on her right crashing to the ground. The sound of chaos around her filled her ears, the clanking of swords versus swords ringing loudly over the battle cries coming from both sides. Her heart was racing as she kept her senses on high alert. She came face to face with another Neqa'el and she swung her scythe at it, watching as it easily flew back and out of the way in the blink of an eye.

Buffy looked over at the blond haired Neqa'el. He was standing there just watching the fight with a cocky smirk curled over his thin, pale lips. She saw the sun hit the blade of the sword and she dove to the ground, avoiding what could have been a fatal blow. She kicked the Neqa'el away from her and rolled to her right as another brought their sword down, missing her head by a fraction of an inch. Leaping up to her feet once again, she ran after the Neqa'el that had just tried to kill her. With a quick, perfectly timed flying roundhouse kick, she sent it flying through several others that had a handful of younger slayers surrounded.

The adrenaline was pumping through her veins and she took half a second too long to catch her breath. She felt the blow to the back of her head and she tumbled to the ground, crying out in pain as she rolled onto her back and swung the scythe at the Neqa'el that had kicked her hard.

"Buffy, to your left!" Satsu yelled as Buffy leapt to her feet and swung the scythe to her left.

"So much for _not_ killing them," Buffy muttered as the Neqa'el she'd taken the swing at slumped to the ground, its head rolling through the grass. "Kennedy, stay with us!"

"Right behind ya, boss!"

Buffy grumbled and moved forward, the ground beneath her feet uneven, her steps almost unsure. She looked behind her, watching just for a second as the younger slayers fought against the Neqa'el. The one she was headed for was retreating through the forest and she snapped her fingers at Kennedy and Satsu and the three of them took off running.

The sky grew darker as they chased after the Neqa'el with the sword they needed. Thunder cracked as lightning zigzagged across the sky. The rain began to fall as they reached the edge of the forest and continued running after the Neqa'el as it disappeared into the mouth of the caves.

"Why wasn't it flying?" Kennedy asked as they came to a stop. "It could've flown away instead of run. Why didn't it fly?"

"Who knows? Maybe it wanted us to follow it?" Satsu shrugged. "What now, Buffy?"

"We go in after it," she said as she pulled the flashlight from the utility belt she was now glad Andrew had talked her into wearing. She pulled the headset mouthpiece closer and took a deep breath before speaking. "Xander?"

"_Yeah, Buff?"_

"Tell the others to retreat behind the barrier. We're at the caves. We're going in."

"_We still got visual. On it."_

"Stand by for request for backup."

"_Sure thing, Buff. Uh, might be a problem and not a good time to tell you but...Faith has gone looking for Willow and Danu. Something about getting them to work more witch-fu on her so she can come and fight with you guys."_

Buffy sighed heavily and flipped on the flashlight, motioning to Kennedy and Satsu to follow her as she headed into the cave's mouth. "Whatever you do, Xander, don't let her come down here."

"_Might not have much of a choice there, Buffster."_

"You have the tranq gun. Use it."

Buffy ended the transmission, ignoring the obvious looks from Satsu and Kennedy as they followed the main tunnel down in the caves. They moved quickly, keeping their senses alert in case there were other Neqa'el hiding down there in the caves and waiting for their moment to strike. Buffy came to an abrupt stop just before they reached the cavern and she motioned to Kennedy and Satsu to stop and stay down.

Buffy switched the flashlight off and peered over the boulder she was crouched behind. She saw the Neqa'el with the sword they'd been chasing and it-he-was standing by three others quietly talking. Satsu moved next to her and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"We're outnumbered," she whispered. "What do we do now?"

"We wait. We watch. The others might leave."

"Buffy, we can't waste any time. We need to get that sword and get back."

"I know that," Buffy hissed and she placed her hand over Satsu's mouth. "Stay quiet."

* * *

Faith had no other way of getting up to the roof being in the chair. She groaned loudly as she got to her feet and began to climb up the spiral staircase. The pain was almost unbearable, but she ignored it as she reached the doorway and pushed it open. The rain was coming down in sheets and she could barely see Willow and Danu at the far end of the flat section of the roof.

"Faith, what are you doing up here?" Willow asked as she quickly made her way over to Faith. "Get back inside. It's not safe for you up here."

"Got a favour to ask, Red."

"No," Willow said as she shook her head no. "We can't do it again."

"Why the hell not?"

"It doesn't work that way, Faith."

"Bullshit!" Faith yelled, the roar of the rain nearly drowning her voice. She grabbed Willow by the front of her shirt roughly, the anger and frustration driving her to an extreme. "I can't fuckin' wait for my goddamn leg to heal on its own, Red! I need to be out there fighting this fight with them!"

"You don't have a choice!" Willow yelled back and she wrenched Faith's hands off her shirt. "Get back inside. Now!"

"Get back inside, Faith," Xander said as he stepped out onto the roof. Faith spun around and laughed when she saw the tranq gun in his hand.

"Whatcha gonna do, Xand? Shoot me?"

"If that's what it takes," he replied as he took a tentative step forward. "I'm following orders, Faith."

"What orders?"

"Buffy's."

"This is fuckin' rich," Faith laughed incredulously. "Karma is a bitch, huh?"

"Faith, get back inside," Xander said calmly. She just crossed her arms over her chest, smirking. He raised the gun and aimed it at her midsection. "Don't make me do it."

Faith held her arms out and laughed. "Do it!"

"They're in!" Danu yelled. "Barrier is down!"

"Faith," Xander said as his hand began to shake. "You need to get back inside now!"

"Fuck that," she laughed again and she turned to look at the handful of Neqa'el flying in towards them. "Bring it on, fuckers!"

She fell to the ground as the tranq hit her in the back of her shoulder. As her eyes began to close, the last thing she saw was Xander bending down to pick her up and everything went black.

* * *

Buffy stayed behind the boulder, watching the four Neqa'el as they continued to talk indistinctly. Kennedy moved forward a little more and mouthed "now" to Buffy. They leapt out from behind the boulder and charged at the Neqa'el, prepared to take them down to get what they came for.

"The Slayers," the blond haired Neqa'el said as the three others moved to grab onto Kennedy and Satsu in a blink of an eye. "We've not been formally introduced. I am Treon."

"And I'm the chick whose gonna kick your ass," Buffy said with a smirk as she gripped onto the scythe.

"You must be the famous Buffy," Treon said with a smirk as he twirled the sword in his hand. "You are a legend in the ethereal beyond."

"Don't care. Didn't come here to chat, _Treon_."

"Of course not," he said and motioned to the other Neqa'el to let go of Kennedy and Satsu. "I do know what you've come for. You won't get it."

"That's where you're wrong. I always get what I want."

"Your friends are in danger," Treon laughed. "The barrier your witch cast has failed."

Buffy stayed calm as she switched the scythe from her left hand to her right. Her hair, her clothes, every inch of her was soaked with sweat and rain. She was cold, scared, yet the adrenaline flowed through her and edged her on. She inhaled deeply, looking over Treon while keeping an eye on the three other Neqa'el, Satsu, and Kennedy.

Buffy charged towards Treon, swinging the scythe at his head in a blind rage. Treon laughed as he flew back a half a second before that fatal blow. Buffy spun around quickly, watching as one of the other Neqa'el jabbed the sword into Satsu's chest. Kennedy fought with the other two as they backed her up into a corner. Buffy turned to face Treon, anger bubbling inside of her.

"We will end you all. We will restore the balance."

"Fuck the balance," Buffy growled as she lurched forward, using the stake on the end of her scythe and plunged it into Treon's eye. Black blood spurted as she pulled the scythe back and her stomach lurched as Treon howled in pain. "Ew."

"Buffy!" Kennedy screamed out as she continued to struggle against the two Neqa'el that had her cornered. "Kill him and get the sword! Then you know, help me out here!"

"It'll be too late before you end this," Treon laughed incredulously as he staggered back, his wings limp, the black blood trailing from his erupted eye socket. "Danu knows it'll be too late. There's far too many of us here now. Closing the portal will not kill us all."

"Maybe not, but I got an army of slayers and we will take you down. One by one."

Treon turned to run, but Buffy was quick to react, sliding across the dirt and stone ground and swept his legs out from under him. He let out a surprised yelp as he fell onto his back and Buffy rose to her feet, gripping tightly onto her scythe as she stared down at him.

"Got news for you, Treon. Guess which one I'm gonna take down first?"

Buffy grinned as she placed a foot on his chest and bent over to grab the sword out of his hand. She dropped her scythe and gripped the silver handle, the weight of the sword feeling just right-as right as the scythe had the first time she'd ever held it. She blew him a kiss before she brought the sword down, decapitating him with one quick slice to the neck.

"Buffy!" Kennedy yelled as she used her own sword to kill one of the Neqa'el as it got too close to her. "A little fucking help here would be nice! Really don't feel like dying today!"

Buffy kicked Treon's head across the cavern floor and picked up her scythe, feeling the rush of the slay pump wildly through her veins. She ran over to Kennedy and pulled the last Neqa'el standing away from her. She made quick work, eliminating the Neqa'el before it had a chance to realize what was about to happen next. She turned to Kennedy with a satisfied smile on her face before it quickly disappeared.

"She's dead," Kennedy groaned as she clutched her left arm. "She's fucking dead, Buffy!"

"Where'd the other one go?"

"I don't know," Kennedy gasped as she ripped the sleeve of her shirt off. She had a deep gash, the blood just pouring down her arm. Buffy grabbed the torn sleeve and helped her tie it off to stop the flow. "Buffy, we got to get outta here now. If the others come, we're as fucking dead as Satsu."

"Xander?" Buffy said through the headset. "Xander, are you there?"

All that came in response was static. Buffy growled in frustration and ran over to Satsu's lifeless body. She slid the sword into the sheath on her belt and placed her scythe in the strap on her back before she bent down and picked up Satsu in her arms.

"Goddamnit," Buffy sighed as she shook her head. "Kennedy, watch my back. We're getting out of here."

"On it," Kennedy replied with a curt nod and followed Buffy to the tunnel they'd come down in.

Buffy led the way through the dark tunnel, her eyesight having adjusted to the darkness. She barely even noticed it. The closer they got to the surface, the harder her heart began to race. The roar of the rain became louder as they reached the opening and the sky had grown so dark it looked as if it were night and not the middle of the day. She tried to reach Xander again, but the static was louder than it had been before. She breathed heavily as she and Kennedy moved quickly through the forest, the rain coming down harder with every step that they took.

Buffy came to a stop at the clearing just before the edge of what used to be the barrier. She placed Satsu's body down on the wet grass and grabbed her scythe as she saw the fight before her. A couple girls were down, others still fighting with all that they had. None of the Neqa'el had spotted her and Kennedy yet and she pulled Kennedy down behind a row of shrubs.

"We need to get to the castle without being seen," Buffy said quietly as she peered over the top of the shrubs at the fight happening before them.

"Kinda impossible, Buffy," Kennedy muttered as she gripped her injured arm. "There should have been some kind of spell Willow could've done to get the damn sword."

"You know that's not possible. It was already discussed. Danu said-"

"Right. Danu. One of _them_!"

"Kennedy, shut the hell up," Buffy snapped and she slapped her hard across the face. "God you are so..."

"You know something?" Kennedy smirked when Buffy couldn't finish what she was saying. "I really don't get it."

"Get what?"

"Why Faith is all so head over heels in love with you. You're nothing but a bitch."

Buffy ignored her as she moved out from behind the shrubs. She left Satsu's body where it was, knowing she'd never be able to fight if she was carrying her back home. She took off running, leaving Kennedy behind. She ran quickly, dodging past the fighting slayers and Neqa'el, her boots hitting the ground hard and the sound of her heart racing echoing through her head. She was halfway across the field and came to a sudden stop. She grabbed the scythe and swung it around, killing the three Neqa'el that had begun to close in on her with one swing.

She couldn't leave the girls-her slayers-out there alone to fight. She ran back to the crowd, flinging herself into the middle of the fight, trying to help the others before they got themselves killed. The Neqa'el began to push them back towards the castle; the sounds of the fight being drown out by the thunderous roar of the rain. She stopped to pull a few of the slayers that had tripped and fallen to the ground back up to their feet before she pushed them out of the way of a long sword wielded by one of the bigger Neqa'el.

"Come on," Buffy said through gritted teeth as she stood her ground. "Show me what you got."

Her body was growing tired. She was wet, sore, and her whole body was charged from the rush of every blow, every kill she made. She managed to block each blow the bulky Neqa'el took at her. It growled as she wretched its sword away and sent it flying backwards with a solid roundhouse kick to its chest. She turned and headed back towards the castle on shaky legs, her energy feeling as if it had been completely drained from her. Out of nowhere a bright blue light shot out from the roof of the castle, blinding her and causing her to come to a dead stop about twenty feet from the door.

Anguished cries from the Neqa'el pierced the air and left her ears ringing as she turned to watch as each of them stopped fighting, spread their wings and flew off quickly before the barrier reinforced itself around the castle's grounds. She turned back around and ran inside the castle, heading straight for the control room.

"Buffy!" Xander jumped in surprise from where he stood in front of the monitors that were now black. "We have no idea what happened. All communications and visual failed about twenty minutes ago."

"Everyone safe?" Buffy asked, almost breathless as she placed the sword she'd retrieved on Andrew's desk. "Is everyone safe, Xander?"

"Far as I know, yeah," he nodded and turned back to the monitors as each screen flickered and the video feed came through again. "Faith is in the infirmary."

"What happened?"

"Had to shoot her with the tranq gun. Long story. Sorry."

"Don't," Buffy said and she took a deep breath as she stared at the monitors, watching on the screen as the younger slayers made their way back to the castle. "You were following orders."

"She's so gonna kick my ass when she wakes up," Xander winced before he straightened up and readjusted his eye patch nervously. "How many are down, do you know?"

"Satsu," Buffy replied quietly, her voice void of emotion. "Her body is outside just beyond the barrier. I don't know how many others...I don't know. We've lost so many now, Xander. We can't lose this fight."

"We won't, Buff. You got what you went out there for," he said with a forced smile as he pointed to the sword. Andrew picked it up, eyes gleaming with fascination as he took a few practice swings with it. "Andrew, put the sword down."

"Sorry!" Andrew yelped as he dropped the sword back down on the desk. "I'll call Mr. Giles and tell him the mission was a success."

"Buff?" Xander said quietly as he placed a hand on her shoulder. She was staring blankly at the monitors as a few tears slid down her cheeks. "You okay?"

"I'm fine."

"Do you need me to-"

"I'm going to go see Faith. She'll be awake soon. The tranq's will have worked their way through her system by now," Buffy said and she shook Xander's hand off of her. "Make sure the others are okay. Any injured, send them to the infirmary right away. I'll be down later and we'll deal with this."

She dropped the scythe next to the sword on the desk before taking off the belt she wore and dropped it down on top of both weapons. She pulled her wet hair back from her face as she made her way out of the control room and towards the stairs to the right. Every step took too much of an effort, but she pressed on until she reached the second floor. She headed down to the infirmary and walked right in, startling Dr. Ritz as the doors banged loudly against the walls.

Faith was nowhere to be seen inside the infirmary and all the beds were empty. Buffy stormed back out of the infirmary, heading back to the stairs and climbed up to the third floor and went straight to Faith's room. The door was ajar a few inches and she pushed it open. She found Faith lying on her bed and staring blankly up at the ceiling.

"Faith?" Buffy whispered, almost afraid to walk into her room. "Faith, are you okay?"

"Just fuckin' peachy, B. Glad to see you're still alive."

"Xander said you were-"

"I'm gonna kick his ass for puttin' that tranq in me," Faith snapped as she sat up in her bed. "Was down in the infirmary. Couldn't stand it. Spent far too much time in there as it is. Had to get the hell outta there, you know? Figured if those fuckers were gonna get inside, I'd want to die in my own bed."

"But you're...okay, right?"

"Five by five," Faith replied coldly as she looked over at Buffy. "Did ya get it? The sword?"

"Yeah, I got it."

"How many died this time?"

"Satsu," Buffy said under her breath as she stepped inside the room and closed the door when she heard the sounds of the younger slayers coming up the stairs. "I don't know how many others died out there. I don't think I want to know."

"I shoulda been out there with ya, B," Faith said, the coldness in her voice dropping away with every word she spoke. Buffy shivered, her wet clothes feeling heavy and cold against her skin. "Shit, you're freezing, ain't ya?"

"Yeah," Buffy nodded, her teeth chattering as she wrapped her arms around herself.

"Well," Faith said as she pulled back the covers on her bed and smirked. "Get outta those wet clothes and hop in. I'll get ya warm in no time."

Buffy laughed and shook her head no. "I think I better just go to my room, get out of these clothes and run a nice hot bath and try to relax."

"Didn't hurt to try," Faith chuckled softly as the tension slipped away from between them. "Ya gonna come back after?"

"If you want me to?"

"Sure."

"You won't kick me out later?"

"Not this time," Faith replied easily. "But when ya come back, you're gonna tell me everything that happened out there. I want details."

"Wait," Buffy said as she stopped herself from leaving, noticing that Faith no longer had the cast on her leg. "What happened-?"

"Got wet when I went up on the roof. Doc took it off. I booked it outta there before she could put another one on me."

"Is it still broken?"

"Dunno. It still hurts," Faith shrugged. "Think it's pretty much healed up though. Made it up here in one piece, didn't I?"

"I won't be long," Buffy said quietly, smiling at Faith as she opened the door.

No matter what she'd just been through, seeing that cocky smirk only Faith could pull off sent the butterflies fluttering she didn't know were there in her stomach. It made her forget the pain she felt in her strained muscles. It made her forget just how exhausted, cold, and wet she was. It made her forget that Satsu and god knows how many other girls had fallen in that fight.

She just wished she'd turned down the offer to strip out of her clothes and let Faith warm her up. There'd be another time for _that_, and all she had now aside from the hot bath she was going to have to warm her up were the thoughts of just how Faith would've managed to do just that.


	12. Chapter 11

**Chapter Eleven**

Faith tried to pay attention to every word Buffy was saying about the fight. She _was_ trying, but her mind was wandering far off into dangerous territories she couldn't quite physically go with Buffy just yet. But having Buffy sitting on her bed next to her, talking animatedly about the fight, smelling good and fresh from the bath she'd just had, it made Faith's whole head spin.

"Faith?"

"Huh?" Faith snapped out of her daze and turned to look at Buffy. "What'd you just say?"

"I asked you if you're paying attention or thinking about something else. Pretty obvious where your head is at right now."

"Sorry," Faith muttered under her breath. "Keep thinkin' how I shoulda been there with you guys."

"Liar."

Faith smirked and rolled her eyes as she got a little more comfortable sitting up against the headboard. "Ain't nothing gets past you, does it?"

"What were you just thinking about?"

"You," Faith blurted out. Buffy blushed and looked away from her and Faith just chuckled as she grabbed onto Buffy's hand and easily intertwined their fingers. "Kinda hard for me to pay attention when you smell so good right now."

"It's the vanilla bubble bath that Dawn got for me a couple months ago," Buffy replied quietly as she turned to look back at Faith. "I'm so tired, Faith."

"Well it sounds like ya just had one helluva fight. That'd tire anyone out. Maybe you should just get some sleep and we can-"

"No," Buffy sighed. "I'm tired of _this_."

"Of what, B?"

Buffy only shook her head and it made Faith wonder what the hell she was going on about. It was never easy for her to figure out Buffy, not then and definitely not now. She turned to look at Buffy and was taken back in surprise as Buffy pulled her in and kissed her hard. It took Faith a minute or so to register what was happening before she pulled Buffy closer to her and began to kiss her back with such fevered passion she didn't know existed inside of her. She could feel the heat radiating off of Buffy's body, she could taste the need as Buffy's tongue duelled and danced with her own and she had to put a stop to it before it went any further.

"You wanna explain what you're tired of?" Faith asked softly and she brought a hand up to Buffy's face and traced the edges of her bottom lip with her thumb.

"I'm tired of dancing around how I feel about you and how I know you feel about me," Buffy said and she laughed softly as she laid back on the bed. "I'm tired of not taking what I know I want."

"And what's that?"

"I know I want you."

"You got me, B," Faith replied with a smile. When she came to a realization, the smile faded and was quickly replaced with a frown. "Shit."

"What?"

"Don't you find this a little..." Faith trailed off, not sure what word to use. Weird wasn't right, but nothing else came to mind. She shook her head and laid next to Buffy, ignoring the pain in her right thigh.

"What, Faith?"

"Kinda weird? I mean, shit...I dunno really. It just feels...different with you."

"What feels different?"

"Falling in love," Faith whispered so softly she wasn't sure if Buffy heard her or not. When Buffy didn't say anything, she knew she hadn't heard her and breathed out in relief. Sometimes she wished she could keep her mouth shut. Neither of them were ready for declarations of love. At least that's what Faith thought despite having practically said it already. "Where's this going between us, B?"

"I don't know."

"Yet you know you want me?" Faith asked, feeling more confused than ever. "You're afraid of what this could be, aren't you?"

"You aren't exactly the relationship type, so yeah, I'm afraid."

"Goes to show you really don't know me as well as you'd like to believe ya do, B."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means I am the relationship type," Faith shrugged. "Just never had the chance to do it right before. Things change. Not so sure now is a good time to start with what, being in the middle of some fucked up apocalypse and our girls dying left and right and all."

"I've never had good timing. Ever. Didn't expect that to change at all," Buffy replied and she laughed a little bitterly as she turned to look away from Faith. "Ever since that day in the training room when we first kissed, I haven't been able to stop thinking about you, Faith. I feel like I'm going crazy here."

"At least you ain't being all denial girl," Faith chuckled as she leaned in and planted a soft kiss to Buffy's forehead. "It's gonna take some work, ain't it? You and me and the whole...togetherness."

"It'll definitely take some work. I just know that I love kissing you. The kissing thing is good," Buffy said softly as she turned and looked at her. "Definitely good. It's just the other stuff that I'm not so sure about."

"Oh yeah?" Faith raised an eyebrow when Buffy trailed her fingers up her arm slowly. "We can take it slow."

"What if I say I don't want to take it slow?"

Faith blinked, wondering if she heard Buffy right. "Uh..."

Buffy stared at her, her eyes burning into Faith's. Buffy was playing her like a finely tuned instrument, pushing buttons she didn't even know existed and she hadn't done anything really other than kiss her and run her fingers up and down her bare arm a c0uple of times. Faith blinked, trying to get her sexual confidence back and fast. This so wasn't her. She didn't even know why she was feeling nervous with Buffy right now either. Maybe it was the fact that Buffy had just thrown her for a loop or maybe it was the fact that being so close to Buffy made her head spin and her body buzz with a delicious feeling she could never quite describe.

"Faith?"

"Yeah, B?"

"Are you okay?" Buffy asked, her eyebrows rising in mild amusement as Faith nodded her head. "You look like you're somewhere else."

"I was," Faith replied, not recognizing her own voice as it came out shaky and unsure. "But I'm here with you now."

Buffy sat up a little and brought her hand to Faith's right knee. She trailed her fingers up slowly over the bruises and she held her breath as Faith winced. "How much does it hurt?"

"Not too bad. Think it's pretty much healed up now aside from the bruises."

"You should get Dr. Ritz to check it out tomorrow."

"Whatever," Faith shrugged and she grabbed onto Buffy's hand and pulled it away from her thigh. "What's with you tonight?"

She'd noticed something was different about Buffy since she'd come back after having a bath and getting dressed in a comfortable pair of pajamas. She knew she was feeling the after effects of the fight against the Neqa'el, but there was something else. She knew she could be wrong too. Trying to figure out Buffy was like trying to translate one of the old Latin books down in the library.

Buffy didn't say anything as she moved to straddle her left leg, her lips instantly against hers in a hard, needy kiss. She gripped onto the back of Buffy's neck with one hand, the other moving to Buffy's hip in a poor effort to keep her still. She could feel the heat radiating off of Buffy even through their clothes and it was doing nothing but drive her a little wild and insane with need to take what she wanted. She sucked on Buffy's lower lip, the vibrations of her moan sending her on a tailspin, her whole body responding, shuddering with need as the buzzing intensified, making her feel as if she was high on the most potent drug ever made.

The kiss turned slow and deep as Faith moved her hand away from Buffy's hip, sliding under the thin white tank top she was wearing. Her skin was hot and soft to the touch and she trailed her hand over Buffy's stomach, feeling her muscles respond to her touch. Buffy didn't stop her, she just continued to kiss her and Faith moved her hand further up, feeling her tank top slide up with it, exposing Buffy's midsection to the cool air in the room. She brushed the tips of her fingers over the underside of Buffy's breast and her breath hitched in her chest as Buffy arched her back and moaned into her mouth.

She wondered how far she could take things before Buffy came to her senses and stopped her, if she even bothered to stop her. She cupped her breast gently, feeling the nipple stiffen under her palm. Her own moans echoed Buffy's when Buffy pressed her thigh harder into her center and she couldn't stop her hips from rolling against it. Buffy was loving it, she knew she was as she rolled the hard nipple with her fingers and continued to kiss her deeply, their tongues dancing together. She could feel Buffy's heart racing and she pulled back from the kiss and stared deeply into her eyes.

"This okay?" Faith whispered as she rolled Buffy's nipple between her thumb and forefinger. "You wanna keep going?"

Buffy nodded as she bit on her lower lip, trying to stifle the moans as much as she could. Faith eased Buffy onto her back, moving with her as she began to kiss and suck along her neck. She was forcing herself not to rip off Buffy's clothes and her own and fuck her until they both couldn't move. She didn't want their first time to be a fast and furious fuck. Although the visuals of doing just that made her whole body ache, she knew it had to mean something more.

She felt Buffy shake beneath her as she moved lower, trailing the tip of her tongue over the swell of her breast as she pulled her tank top up further. Buffy pushed her back a little and she wondered if she'd gone a little too far, but she was taken back in surprise when Buffy pulled her tank top up and over her head and laid back down.

"Shit, you were serious about not wantin' to go slow, huh?" Faith chuckled as Buffy tugged on the bottom of her shirt. "B, hold up," she sighed and she shook her head when Buffy pouted. She shifted so her weight wasn't on her right thigh and she lifted up enough to pull her shirt off and tossed it to the side to join Buffy's in a small pile at the side of the bed on the floor.

"God, you feel so good," Buffy moaned as Faith pulled Buffy's body closer to hers, her lips lingering a breath away from Buffy's.

Faith licked over her lips and ran a hand over Buffy's stomach, watching her as her fingers reached the underside of her breast. Buffy's breath hitched slightly and Faith deftly moved her fingers over her straining nipple. Buffy placed a hand on the back of her neck, urging her in for a kiss. She complied, kissing her deeply as she rolled her nipple between her fingers, tugging just a little to elicit a whimpering moan from Buffy. One more sound like that and she knew she'd be done for and unable to put a stop to it before things went too far.

Buffy's hands were shaking as she raked her nails down Faith's back. Faith moved her hand away from Buffy's breast and that got that second whimpering moan that pushed her over the edge. She knew what Buffy needed and she knew Buffy needed release. One part of her mind told her that was why Buffy had come to her room in the first place and the other part-the one where her conscious took up an occasional residence-told her to take a few steps back. As soon as that thought was there, it was gone with Buffy sucking on her tongue and wrapping a leg around her hip.

Faith wasted no time in moving her hand to the waistband of Buffy's plain white pajama bottoms, teasing her, testing her reaction by slipping the tips of her fingers just under the edge. Buffy broke away from the kiss and gripped onto her wrist. Faith couldn't tear her eyes away from Buffy's as she let Buffy guide her hand inside her pajama bottoms.

"Shit," Faith groaned as she heard footsteps out in the hallway. Buffy shook her head no, forcing her hand further inside. "Buffy..."

"Goddamn it," Buffy sighed as three sharp knocks sounded on the door. "Can't I ever get more than five minutes alone in this place?"

Faith pulled her hand out, cursing under her breath and making a silent promise to kill whoever was on the other side of the door and ruining probably the one chance she'd get to be with Buffy before the big showdown.

"Yeah?" Faith called out as she and Buffy grabbed their shirts and quickly put them on.

"It's me," Kennedy said and she started pounding on the door. "Did you forget you told me I could sleep in your room tonight?"

"What?" Buffy whispered harshly. "Why is she staying in here with you?"

"She and Red are having a rough patch. Offered up a spot on my floor for her," Faith shrugged and she got out of bed and carefully made her way towards the door, the pain in her leg still there, just not as prominent as it had been before. She unlocked the latch and yanked the door open. "You got really shitty timing, Ken."

"Oh," Kennedy said, smirking as she peered over Faith's shoulder and spotted Buffy getting up from the bed. "Sorry."

"It's not even fuckin' dark outside yet. What the hell are you doing here?"

"Tired. Big fight today and all. You know how it is," she shrugged. "And it _is_ dark out. You'd know that if you looked outside for once."

"I think I'll just go," Buffy said softly. "Night, Faith."

"Fuck," Faith groaned loudly after she'd shut the door behind Buffy. "I could seriously kick your ass right now, Ken."

"What, were you two gonna fuck?"

"Gettin' there. If ya hadn't shown up when you did I-"

"You'd be fucking Buffy right now, I know. Don't need to tell me the naughty little details," Kennedy laughed and she shook her head as she tossed the sleeping bag she had with her to the floor. "You should put a sign on the door or something. A sock on the doorknob even. That way next time I'll know not to bother you two."

"Thought you woulda figured that out with the door being _locked_ and all."

"You always have the door locked," Kennedy replied and she sat on the bed with a heavy sigh. "I'll make it up to you." Faith raised an eyebrow curiously at her. "No, not like _that_, Faith. You know how most of the girls want to have a little sleepover down in the common room? I'll keep everyone preoccupied tomorrow and out of your way and you can have your naughty little way with Buffy before the big fight."

"When is it goin' down?"

"Day after tomorrow. I heard Giles and Percy talking about it before I came up here."

Faith nodded and made her way over to the box on her dresser. She opened it and pulled out the sword Buffy had bought her. "Nice, huh? Was thinkin' of putting this baby to good use. Nothing like an apocalyptic showdown to break her in."

"It's something else. Isn't that the one you kept bugging Giles about?"

"Yep. Buffy got it for me. Brought it to me after I woke up from that damn coma."

"Seriously, what is with you and comas?"

"I've only been in three, first one of which was for about eight months, give or take. Always thought I had a hard head. Guess I don't," Faith replied with a dry laugh.

"Do you think you're ready for the fight?"

"Ready or not, I'm not sittin' this one out."

"How's your leg?"

"Healin' up. Also tired of people asking me that damn question."

Kennedy laughed as she laid back on the bed and propped herself up on her elbows. "Someone's a little testy tonight. You so need to get some."

"Fuck off," Faith grumbled and she walked over to her shelf and placed the sword on the bottom one that had been cleared away when Buffy had cleaned up her room. "Have you and Red talked things out yet?"

"Haven't been able to find her since we got back. Xander told me she's off somewhere with Danu working on some spells, but who knows really. I checked the room but she wasn't there."

"So, if she wasn't there then what the fuck ya doing in here with me?"

"I didn't want to be alone tonight?" Kennedy offered a half-assed explanation and yelped as Faith tackled her to the bed. "God I'm sorry, Faith. I told you I had no idea Buffy would be in here with you. If you're all pissed off about it, why not go to _her_ room and continue what you started?"

"You've got the worst timing. Every time I get a few minutes alone with Buffy, who shows up? _You_."

"How many times do you want me to say I'm sorry?"

"Forget it," Faith groaned and she got up from the bed. "I need to get some air."

"Alone? You know it's not safe out there."

"Not goin' far, Ken. Just need some air and a smoke."

Faith grabbed her pack of cigarettes and her lighter and made her way to the door. She didn't plan to go far and it wasn't as if she could do that on her leg just yet either. She went to one of the many doors that led out to the small balconies that could be found on each end of the third floor. It was cold outside and she wished she'd brought her jacket as soon as she stepped out onto the small balcony.

She was shaking not just from the cold though; she was pissed-beyond pissed that Kennedy had interrupted her and Buffy yet again. She leaned up against the cold, damp stone wall and lit a cigarette. She stared out over the grounds, seeing the faintest outline of the barrier still in place. Her body was itching to fight the Neqa'el, put an end to them once and for all. She was tired of the shit they were pulling and she knew there was still a lot more going on than even what Buffy was telling her.

"Hey," Buffy said softly as she opened the door to the balcony. "I thought you'd be out here."

"Yeah. Just needed some air," Faith replied, not turning to look at her.

"You didn't hurt Kennedy, did you?"

"Thinkin' about it."

Buffy laughed as she reached for her hand. Faith turned to look at her and grinned. She turned to look back out over the grounds, taking a long drag of her cigarette as Buffy pulled her arm and placed it around her as she snuggled into her side.

"Do you think we almost went too far tonight?"

"Do you?" Faith asked, not sure how to answer that since she wasn't sure what Buffy was trying to get at.

"I don't know. I don't think so."

"The night is far from over yet, B."

"What are you implying?"

Faith wiggled her eyebrows and flicked her cigarette over the edge of the balcony. "Was kinda hoping maybe we could continue what we started, but somewhere a little more private considering the resident brat has taken over my room."

"Yeah, about that..." Buffy trailed off and sighed heavily. "A few of the girls are in my room. We've run out of space for them to sleep."

"Shit, are you serious?"

"Unfortunately," Buffy frowned and she shivered, trying to bury herself into Faith's side. "Do you think we can convince Kennedy to find somewhere else to spend the night?"

"Don't think so. Made her a promise. Don't back down on that shit even if she did piss me the fuck off by interrupting us like that."

"Can I stay with you tonight?"

"Sure," Faith smiled at her and pulled open the door. "Come on, it's fuckin' freezing out here."

Faith led the way back to her room and didn't let go of Buffy's hand until she opened the door. Kennedy was laid out on the floor on a makeshift bed and she was flipping through one of the motorcycle magazines she'd found in the room. She raised an eyebrow at Faith and Buffy as they walked in together, but quickly turned her attention back to the magazine.

Buffy got into Faith's bed, shivering as she got under the covers and kept them back a little, waiting for Faith to join her. She motioned to Buffy that she'd be a minute and headed for the bathroom, not too subtly kicking a snickering Kennedy in the leg on the way. She knew it was going to be one hell of a long night spending it with Buffy in her bed and not being able to touch her, kiss her, do all the things they were so close to doing before. And because Kennedy was there a few feet away from them on the floor, it was going to be a long night of pure and complete torture.

She ran the water in the sink, splashing a handful of cold water over her face. Where she'd been shot by the tranqs, the skin was tender, not sore. It'd been one hell of a long day and an even longer week. As soon as she was finished in the bathroom, she walked back into the bedroom. The lights had been turned off and she tried not to trip over Kennedy as she made her way to her bed.

"Are you sure we can't kick her out?" Buffy whispered as she laid down next to her.

"I can hear you!" Kennedy said in a harsh whisper. "Goddamn it, Buffy, if it pisses you off so much that I'm in here, just say it to my face."

"It pisses me off you're in here," Buffy replied easily and Faith had to stifle a laugh. "Willow isn't even here right now. She and Danu went to meet with the coven tonight. Go back to your room, Kennedy."

Faith looked over at Kennedy and watched her as she got up and grabbed the pillow and blankets she'd been lying on. She grumbled under her breath and stormed out of the room, slamming the door shut behind her.

"Is it true Red ain't here?"

"Don't know," Buffy said as she got out of bed quickly and locked the door. "It got rid of her though, didn't it?"

"You're bad," Faith chuckled as Buffy got back into bed. "Don't ever change."

"Never. I'm starting to think you're a bad influence on me," Buffy whispered as she moved to straddle Faith.

"Oh yeah?"

"Mm-hmm."

Faith sighed out as Buffy kissed her lightly. She moved a hand to the back of Buffy's head and deepened the kiss, rolling her hips up against Buffy's center. She moved her other hand to the small of Buffy's back, encouraging her to meet her languid thrusts. She wanted their clothes off and out of the way, she wanted to feel Buffy fully against her, but wasn't about to push things too far too fast. The kiss became deeper, their tongues frantically dancing together, their breathing coming out in sharp gasps. She moved her hands to the hem of Buffy's tank top, desperate to get to where they'd been before Kennedy had interrupted them.

Buffy pulled back from the kiss, sitting up and allowed Faith to slide her tank top up and over her head. Her chest was heaving as she tried to get her breathing under control and even in the darkness, Faith could see every inch of her exposed skin. She sat up, wrapping her arms around Buffy's waist and dipped her head down, wrapping her lips around a hard nipple. Buffy was tugging on her shirt, but she didn't pull back. She circled her tongue over her nipple before moving to the other, nipping at it and sucking hard. Buffy moaned, her hands going to Faith's head and she gripped onto her hair, holding her right where she was. As quickly as her hands had found their way to her head, they moved to the bottom of her shirt and slipped under. Buffy's hands were hot against her skin as they reached her breasts, palming both as her thumbs slid over her erect nipples, teasing her, pushing her on.

"Faith," Buffy breathed out as she tried to push her back a little. "Take it off."

Faith pulled back from her breast, letting her nipple go with a soft wet plop. She licked over her lips before she pulled her own shirt off and tossed it to the side. She inhaled deeply, smelling Buffy's arousal and her own that was rapidly filling the room. It was enough to drive her completely insane with want and she needed to touch Buffy, she needed to feel how wet she was for her, because of her.

Faith crushed her lips against Buffy's, devouring her as she ran her fingers over the edge of Buffy's pajama bottoms. The angle was awkward and she groaned as she manoeuvred them easily until Buffy was lying on her back and she was hovering slightly over her. Just like before when they'd reached this point before the disappointing interruption, Buffy grabbed on to her hand and guided it inside her pajama bottoms. Faith pulled back from their hot kiss, holding her breath as she felt Buffy let go of her wrist and she eased her fingers lower, feeling the soft curls against her fingertips.

She let out a quiet groan as her fingers slipped between Buffy's wet folds. The heat was intense, scorching, and her whole body was reacting to how wet Buffy was. She circled her fingers over her clit as she stared intensely into Buffy's eyes. Buffy was gasping and moaning, her nails digging into Faith's shoulders with every hard flick of Faith's fingers over her clit. Her hips kept surging up and Faith knew she wanted more of her, she knew Buffy wanted her to fuck her, to make her cum. She wanted to do more than just make Buffy cum. She wanted to possess her.

"Faith...oh god," Buffy cried out as Faith pinched her clit between her forefinger and thumb. She whimpered when Faith abruptly stopped and pulled her hand out. "Why'd you stop?"

"'Cause I need to taste you," she whispered huskily. "I wanna make you cum against my lips and tongue. Can I?"

Buffy didn't answer her with words; instead she pulled Faith in for a heated kiss. It didn't last for long and Faith kissed her way down Buffy's neck, licking over her collarbone as she tugged on her pajama bottoms, trying to slide them down a little. She trailed her lips down Buffy's torso, stopping to dip her tongue inside her bellybutton before she leaned back and began to slide her pants down. Buffy lifted her butt from the bed, making it easier for her. Faith took her time sliding them down her legs and when she reached her feet, she pulled her socks off with them and tossed the clothes to the floor behind her.

Faith's heart was thundering in her chest as she trailed soft, wet kisses up the insides of Buffy's legs. She nibbled on the inside of Buffy's left thigh, marking her as the scent of her arousal hit her in waves. She could feel Buffy shuddering as she spread her legs wider. She could faintly make out the closely cropped hair that covered Buffy's pussy and she ran her fingers over her wet folds, spreading them as she dipped her tongue out for the first taste. She eased her tongue inside of Buffy's wet hole, feeling her walls clench around her tongue as her hands flew to the back of her head and gripped tightly.

"Faith...oh fuck..." Buffy cried out, pulling her face closer to her pussy as she thrust her hips up from the bed.

Faith licked along her slit and wrapped her lips around her clit, feeling it throb against her tongue as she deftly slid a finger inside of Buffy and then followed with a second one, thrusting into her hard and deep. The moans and squeals coming from Buffy told her she definitely loved this and Faith was far from stopping anytime soon. She felt high off the taste of Buffy, her sweet, musky taste coating her tongue, making her want more. Buffy was so tight around her fingers. She couldn't get enough of her and she sucked on her clit, using her other hand to hold Buffy's jerking hips still.

"Fuck, you taste wicked good, babe," Faith breathed out, pulling back a little to catch her breath.

"Oh god," Buffy moaned breathlessly and tugged on her hair. "Don't stop, Faith."

Faith just watched her fingers bottom out inside of Buffy. Just over the flow of sighs and moans coming from Buffy, she could hear the sounds of footsteps on the floor below and the voices of the girls the footsteps belonged to.

"Faith?" Xander's voice came over the intercom and she stilled her fingers inside of Buffy and groaned softly. "There's a situation. I need you to find Buffy and come down here right now."

Faith eased her fingers out of Buffy's wet hole, leaning in to lick the cum as it seeped out and she got up from the bed. She stormed over to the intercom and pressed the talk button. "What situation? I'm a little...preoccupied at the moment," she said, choosing her words carefully and she glanced over at Buffy and winked at her.

"Possible breach in the barrier on the west end."

"We'll be down in five minutes."

Buffy was already picking her discarded clothes up from the floor and Faith flipped on the light, her eyes drinking in the sight of a very naked Buffy grumbling about being interrupted yet again. She pulled on her shirt, slipped on a pair of running shoes, and held out her hand to Buffy just as she pulled on her pajama bottoms.

"Come on, B, let's go deal with this."

"If we have to fight, are you-"

"I'm fine. Let's go."

Buffy was agitated and thoroughly pissed. Faith could feel it just holding on to her hand as they made the way down the stairs and headed for the control room quickly. She didn't like being interrupted any more than Buffy did, but there wasn't much they could do about it either. They were in the middle of an apocalypse and their personal lives would have to be put on hold indefinitely until things were dealt with. If it was up to her-and it wasn't-this whole situation with the Neqa'el would've been over before things had started to get really bad.


	13. Chapter 12

**Chapter Twelve**

The control room was buzzing with the younger slayers speculating about what was going on when Buffy and Faith walked in together. Buffy tried not to look so pissed off, but she knew it wasn't working. Their job was never done and finding time alone was next to impossible. She made her way to the monitors where Xander was standing with Giles.

"What's going on?" Buffy asked as she looked over the monitors, trying to see for herself.

"Definite breach in the barrier," Xander replied, pointing to the far left monitor that showed a small group of Neqa'el just outside the barrier. "We don't think there's any more but we can't be sure. A few of our cameras got knocked out and we're not sure why."

"What's the plan?"

"We're on alert," Giles replied, and he turned to face the others in the room. "I need for everyone to grab a weapon. The castle is now under high alert. I will need you all to form teams and head out to each entrance in case the Neqa'el decide to push forward."

"Giles," Buffy said quietly as she pulled him to the side. "Have you found a priest yet?"

"Yes," he nodded. "He'll be arriving in the morning unfortunately. I hope it won't be too late."

"Are we going into this fight tomorrow?"ahH

"We are," he said quietly. "We need to put an end to this, Buffy, but I'm afraid if the sword cannot be blessed by tomorrow evening, we'll go ahead with the original plan."

"Uh, Buffy?" Andrew said as he stepped up to both of them. "I have outfits for everyone."

"Outfits?"

"Protective gear. Arrived a few hours ago."

Buffy raised an eyebrow at him but didn't say a word as he handed her a white box with her name on it. She opened it and pulled out the black two-piece suit complete with straps and holsters for weapons. There had been talks in the past to fit everyone with special suits and they did have gear at one point, but they were about as useless as normal clothes. This new gear however felt different and Buffy knew it'd help protect them just a little more. Andrew moved to the others and began handing out the boxes he had piled by his desk. Faith walked over to Buffy and motioned for her to follow her.

"Outfits, huh?" Faith chuckled as she held hers in her hands as they made their way to the armoury. "Thought we weren't gonna do the outfits thing? Too...what was the word, military, I believe ya said."

"Well," Buffy shrugged as she made sure to shut the door behind them. "I guess it beats ruining any more of my good clothes, right? How's your leg feeling?"

"Helluva lot better now."

"Are you sure?"

"Just feels a little tender right now, B. I'm good to fight. Don't worry about me."

They stripped out of their clothes and put on the protective gear. It fit both of them perfectly and Buffy looked over at Faith, checking her out as she ran her hands over her body. Faith growled in appreciation as she looked Buffy up and down.

"Damn, you're lookin' fine," Faith said huskily, wrapping her arms around Buffy and pulling her in close. "Makes me wanna get you outta it and continue what we were doing upstairs."

"Later," Buffy said, smiling as she felt herself blush a little. She pushed Faith away from her, not wanting to get lost within her at the moment. They would have plenty of time for _that_ after. They walked out of the armoury and back into the control room to find the majority of the younger slayers already dressed in their new gear.

Teams were split into groups of fives, each of them instructed to guard a specific entrance to the castle. Buffy, Faith, Kennedy, Vi, and Rona were the only ones that were going to head out to where the barrier had been breached to try to stop the Neqa'el from getting too close. Willow had returned and was already up on the roof with Danu trying to reinforce the barrier, but it'd take some time to make it stronger than it had been before.

"Come on," Faith said as she stood by Buffy's side as they watched the others head out to their posts. "Let's go kick some ass, yeah?"

"Do be careful," Giles said, directing the comment at Faith. "We'll send out the call when the barrier is back up. When the call comes through you must retreat behind the barrier and kill any that follow before it's closed."

"Where's Wood?" Kennedy asked.

"Up on the roof with Willow and Danu for safety measures in case the others become hostile," Giles replied. "Now hurry before they get too close."

Buffy led the way out of the control room as soon as they were equipped with weapons. Each of them carried a long sword and Buffy had handed the scythe over to Faith. She needed it more than she or any of the others did. Buffy knew she couldn't worry about her too much. Faith could always handle herself unless she was badly injured to the point where she couldn't walk.

Faith and Kennedy were behind, talking quietly and laughing as they headed outside. Buffy only rolled her eyes and glanced back at Faith. She and Kennedy both smiled sweetly at her and she had an idea of just what they were talking about. It was distractions like that she really didn't need when they were about to walk into yet another fight against the Neqa'el. But the visuals from said distractions were nice and it made her body ache for them to continue where they'd left off.

"Buffy, are we sticking together or spreading out?" Rona asked as they made their way across the grass. "Buffy?"

"Stick together," she replied and she motioned up ahead when she spotted a group of Neqa'el coming through a hole in the barrier one by one. "Take them out as quickly as you can," she said to the others. "And if any more of them show up, don't let them in!"

Buffy led them forward, feeling Faith as she moved to walk next to her. She looked over at her, both of them smiling before they turned their attention to the Neqa'el now flying towards them. Buffy took a split second to look back at the castle. A small blue glow could be seen from where Willow and Danu were standing. She could faintly make out Robin as he stood waiting, ready to fight if any of the Neqa'el got too close.

The first one swept down and Kennedy plunged her sword upwards, the body of the Neqa'el falling, its head rolling off its shoulders before it hit the ground. The others, at least six of them, landed on their feet a few yards ahead of them and Buffy motioned them forward. Faith stood where she was, gripping the scythe as if it was a baseball bat. Buffy kept an eye on her, watching as she swung at the first Neqa'el that charged at her before she launched herself at the one coming towards her.

Buffy timed her blows, sending the blonde-haired Neqa'el flying just out of reach. She looked to the others to make sure they hadn't found themselves in a tight spot before she chased down the blonde one and spun around with a roundhouse kick to send the one trying to sneak up behind her crashing to the ground. The one she'd been pursuing swung at her with its sword and she looked down in surprise to find the sword hadn't even penetrated her suit. The Neqa'el looked equally surprised and Buffy used that moment to swing her own sword at the stunned blonde.

"These suits are fuckin' wicked!" Faith yelled out as she grabbed onto the Neqa'el she was currently fighting and twisted its arm around its back. "Hey Ken! Batter Up! Take a swing."

Buffy laughed, shaking her head and turned her attention back to the last two Neqa'el standing aside from the one Faith just shoved in Kennedy's direction. Her headset crackled and she looked back up at the castle as the blue light shot out into the sky.

"_Barrier is closed, take them out."_

"On it, Xander," Buffy replied.

"_Looks like Faith is having fun."_

"Right," she laughed and spotted the last Neqa'el trying to lunge at Vi. "Vi, behind you!"

Vi ducked and rolled to the side and swung her sword out, hitting the Neqa'el in the stomach. Faith was the first to reach them. She used the scythe and sliced the Neqa'el's head clean off effortlessly.

"The head, Vi," she said calmly as she held a hand out to her. "Gotta go for the head, not the gut."

"Lost my balance," Vi replied and allowed Faith to pull her to her feet. "Won't happen again."

"Easy fight, wasn't it, B?" Faith asked as she walked over to her and kicked at the lifeless-and headless-body of the blonde Neqa'el Buffy had taken down. "Was it just me or was that easy?"

"You don't think they sent these ones to distract us, do you?" Kennedy asked, joining the two of them while Rona and Vi headed back to the castle. "You both know these assholes are capable of just about anything."

"Distract us how?" Faith asked and she glanced at Buffy. "You think that was a distraction?"

"I don't know. They figured out how to slice a hole in the barrier. Anything is possible right now," Buffy replied and she motioned them a little closer. "I have a bad feeling there's one of them on our side and it's not the obvious one."

"The obvious one being that woman stealing bitch Danu," Kennedy muttered. "Who do you think it could be?"

"Who else is new here aside from any of the slayers?" Buffy asked and a look of realization dawned upon both Kennedy and Faith's face. "Percy Chapman. It has to be."

"Why does it have to be him? If it's one of them on our side, don't you think they'd better fit in as one of the slayers with their strength?" Faith asked and she crossed her arms over at her chest when Kennedy rolled her eyes at her. "What?"

"The only new slayers have been the ones from the teams around the world. Things have smelled fishy since before they showed up," Kennedy replied. "Buffy, do you really think it could be Percy?"

"I don't know, but something is going on. They couldn't have just sliced through that barrier without knowing what spell Willow has been using. Word got out somehow and I'm gonna find out just how and by who."

Buffy felt something hit her hard. She felt like the wind had been knocked out of her, but it was brief. Also very alarming since nothing like that had ever happened to her before.

"_Um, Buff?"_

"What, Xander?"

"_Just got word Willow passed out up on the roof. Wood is bringing her in."_

"Did the spell knock her out?"

"_We don't know. You better get back in here, Buff."_

"What's going on? Was that Xand?" Faith asked as she jogged to keep up with Buffy when she started briskly walking back up to the castle. "B? Something happen?"

"Willow passed out up on the roof," Buffy replied and she caught the alarmed look on Kennedy's face as she caught up to her and Faith. "I don't know anything more so don't ask," Buffy said, holding a hand up to Kennedy before she could even speak.

Buffy ran up to the infirmary just as Dr. Ritz began shouting orders at the nurses to clear the room. Buffy pushed past the others and rushed to Willow's side. She was pale and cold to the touch. Her heart sank heavy in her chest when one of the nurses pulled her back.

"What's wrong with her?" Buffy asked and Wood stepped up to her, taking over for the nurse struggling to get them out of there. "What happened up there?"

"She blacked out a minute after the spell was cast. We couldn't wake her," Robin replied and he pulled Buffy out into the corridor just before the nurses slammed and locked the doors shut.

"She just went down?" Buffy asked and she spotted Danu standing at the far end of the corridor being questioned by a very angry Kennedy. Faith was at Kennedy's side, pulling her back before she could throw a right hook at Danu. "Nothing hit her?"

"The magic might have drained her."

"It won't kill her, will it?"

"I don't know, Buffy. I just saw her go down."

She saw Faith struggling to hold Kennedy from attacking Danu and she groaned in annoyance, not wanting to deal with Kennedy's antics at the moment. "I need to put a stop to this," she said and took off running down the corridor and grabbed onto Kennedy. "What the hell is wrong with you?"

"She did something to her!" Kennedy yelled as she struggled against her and Faith's tight hold.

"I did nothing to her," Danu replied, remaining calm. "She used darker magic to make the barrier stronger. She could not handle it."

"Bullshit!" Kennedy tried to get at her again and Buffy, with Faith's help, pulled her further away from Danu. "Let me go," she said angrily, glaring at Faith then over at Buffy. "I swear to god if you don't let me go-"

"What will you do?" Faith asked, pulling Kennedy out of Buffy's grasp and slamming her against the wall. "Get your shit together, Ken. Whatever happened up there happened. Probably wasn't anyone's fault either!"

Buffy turned to look back at Danu, but she was gone. She sighed and headed for the control room to find Giles. There were a few things she had to ask him, one of which had to do with Percy Chapman. As worried as she was about Willow, there was nothing she could do for her at the moment. She left Faith to deal with Kennedy, needing to find some answers of her own.

* * *

Buffy found Giles in his office with his nose buried on one of the dozens of old, dusty books laid out before him. She stood in front of his desk with her arms crossed over her chest and waited for him to take his attention away from the book he was reading.

"Giles, we need to talk."

"About what?" Giles asked, sounding more tired than she ever remembered hearing him before.

"Percy Chapman."

"What about him?"

"How much do you know about him, Giles?"

"What do you mean?" Giles asked and he removed his glasses and stared up at her. "I know he has close ties to the Council and is head researcher with them."

"Did _you_ hire him?"

"He was recommended by one of the surviving Watchers. His father was one of the best researchers the old Council ever had."

"What else do you know about him?"

"Not much more than that. Why do you ask?"

"I have reason to believe he's working with the Neqa'el."

"That's quite the accusation, Buffy. Do you have any sound facts to back up that claim?"

"Well," she sighed and sat down in the chair heavily. "How else would they have known how to break past the barrier? They had to have known what spell Willow used."

"So you believe Percy is working for them? Pitting the enemy against us while playing for the good?"

"I don't just believe. I _know_ he is."

"What do you suggest we do about it?"

"Bring him in. I want to ask him a few questions."

"I'm afraid that's not possible," Giles said and he sighed heavily. "He left a short time ago to run some errands in town. I'll call you in when he returns. Buffy," Giles said quietly as he leaned forward slightly. "Whatever made you think that Percy is working for the Neqa'el?"

"He knows more about them than he's telling us. They knew how to break past the barrier. Things have just been...fishy since he got here."

"I'll do some inquiry into him tonight, but for now just get some rest. Tomorrow is a big day for all of us, Buffy. We're going to put an end to this before things get worse. I received word a short time ago that the slayers that haven't made it here have been found dead. I've called in a team from the Council to investigate the nature of their deaths, but you and I both know that the Neqa'el are behind this. This is what they've come here for. They will not stop until they've put an end to the entire slayer line."

Buffy didn't say another word. She wasn't going to get anywhere with Giles tonight. She left the office and headed for her room. She could feel Faith as she reached her bedroom door and her heart began to race with excitement. Just thinking back to earlier, her arousal hit her in waves. Just once, just for tonight, she wanted to be alone with Faith without any interruptions. She knew Faith wanted that just as badly as she did too. She took a deep breath before she opened her bedroom door and stepped inside.

"You talk to Giles?" Faith asked from where she stood by the window.

"Yeah. He's gonna look into it and find out more about Percy. Did you get Kennedy to calm down?"

"Got her some sedatives from Andrew. She's sleeping in my room," Faith replied and she turned around as Buffy closed the door behind her. "Lock it."

Buffy locked the door and looked to her left at the intercom. It had been torn out of the wall, just barely hanging there from a few lone wires. She raised an eyebrow and looked over at Faith. "Why did you-"

"I wanna be alone with you tonight, babe. After we were interrupted earlier, well, it's driving me fuckin' insane. Ain't gonna happen again, at least not tonight. Got a big day ahead of us, B. Who knows what's gonna happen tomorrow and I don't wanna wait for this."

"This?"

"I wanna make love to you," Faith whispered as she approached her slowly. Buffy was still standing by the door, her feet feeling as if they'd been glued to the floor. "I wanna show you how you make me feel. I ain't ever been so good with words. Always been better with some hands on action."

"Yeah, you really are," Buffy smiled as Faith wrapped her arms around her and pulled her close. "Definitely don't hear any complaints about that from me. But..."

"But?"

"I'm feeling kind of icky. I really want to have a shower right now."

Faith laughed and began to tug her back towards the bathroom. They both stripped out of their tight protective gear, finding it harder to take it off than it was to put it on. Buffy found herself distracted as she tried to follow Faith into the bathroom. There Faith was in front of her wearing nothing more than a skimpy pair of panties and a matching black bra that contrasted against her pale skin. Her heart was hammering in her chest, her libido taking note of the woman in front of her. Before Faith, she'd never had those feelings or thoughts about another woman. More and more she was convinced that this was a Faith thing, not a gay thing.

The reality of the situation hit her as she watched Faith run the water in the tub, getting the temperature just right. Faith wanted to make love to her. Faith wanted to spend all night with her, showing her just how she made her feel. All this time since that first kiss, this was what everything was building up to. They hadn't even had a real date yet!

"I can almost see the wheels turning in your head, B," Faith chuckled as she turned to look at her.

"I'm just...thinking."

"You're always thinkin'," Faith said and she reached behind her to unclasp her bra. Buffy couldn't take her eyes off of Faith as she shrugged her bra off and let it fall to the floor. "How about you try something just for tonight?"

"What's that?"

"Don't think about anything tonight. Just go with it."

"You aren't even gonna ask what I'm thinking about?"

Faith shrugged and slipped her panties down. "What are you thinkin' about, B?"

"Uh..." Buffy was at loss for words at the sight of a completely nude Faith in front of her. "Nothing. It doesn't matter. Like you said," she said, recovering from her stupor, "not gonna think about anything tonight."

Faith winked and stepped into the shower, leaving the curtain open for her. Buffy took a moment before she stripped out of her bra and panties and quickly joined her. The water was hot, but not scalding, and it was a relief to her stiff, tired muscles. Faith's lips were on hers, her hands trailing over her hips and back, pulling her in close. The kiss went from soft and sweet to deep and passionate within a matter of seconds. Buffy moaned as Faith slipped a leg between hers and pulled her hard against her thigh, sending a shockwave of pleasure coursing through her body.

Everything about Faith's body felt right pressed up so tight against her own. The heat that radiated off of her was intense and it sent their slayer connection haywire. None of her previous lovers had made her body react this way. None of her previous lovers had pulled her in the way Faith did either. She was nervous too. She was just as nervous as she'd been earlier when they'd had a few moments alone and things went really far between them. Just thinking of how Faith had made her feel, the way Faith had touched her then, it sent a flood of arousal through her and the anticipation of feeling that again was almost too much.

"Don't know about you, but this kinda defeats the purpose of feeling less icky," Faith chuckled once she broke away from the kiss. "Plus I wanna take this to the bed, B."

"Is your leg hurting?"

"A little," she nodded and forced a smile. "Nothing to worry about."

They washed up quickly, stealing longing glances at one another as they took turns under the hot stream of water. Faith was the first one out and Buffy quickly rinsed out her hair, watching her through the curtain as she dried herself off. Her stomach was full of butterflies she couldn't calm down. Her mind was still racing and her whole body ached to be touched and worshipped by Faith. She turned off the water and took a few deep, shaky breaths. She was nervous, yes, but there was something else there she was feeling she couldn't quite put her finger on.

Faith was standing by the sink when she stepped out of the tub. She was wrapped in a towel and running a comb through her wet hair. Buffy felt mesmerized just watching Faith as she grabbed her own towel off the rack. Feeling a little bold, she walked up behind Faith and ran her hands over her bare shoulders, the muscles rippling under her fingertips. She gazed at Faith in the reflection of the mirror as she leaned in and trailed light kisses over her shoulder and neck. When she reached the scar from when Angelus had bitten her, she ran her fingers over it, feeling the slight bumps that marred her otherwise flawless skin.

Faith sighed softly and turned around slowly, wrapping her arms around Buffy as their eyes locked in a long gaze. "You okay, B?"

"I'm fine."

"Nervous? Scared?"

"Little nervous, definitely not scared."

"We don't have to do this tonight," Faith said quietly. "Got a big day ahead of us tomorrow."

"Are you trying to back out?"

"Hell no. Just wanna make sure you're okay with this."

"I'm so okay with this," she said with a smile and pressed her lips lightly against Faith's. "I've just never done anything like this before."

"S'okay, babe. Just do what feels right. Not gonna hear any complaints from me."

"Can we..." Buffy trailed off as she motioned to the doorway.

Faith took her hand and led her out of the bathroom, shedding her towel from around her before she even reached the door. She pulled at Buffy's towel, tossed it to the floor, and pulled her in close, crushing her lips to hers in a fierce kiss. Buffy let Faith take the lead and lost herself in the kiss and the feel of Faith's body-a very naked body-against her own made her thoughts cloud over. Faith led the way to the bed and they fell down on it, their lips never breaking apart.

Buffy gripped onto Faith's back as Faith slipped a leg between her thighs. She tore her lips away from Faith's, gasping for air. It felt frantic between them, almost as if they couldn't quite get enough of each other and they hadn't even done much. Buffy smoothed her hands up and down Faith's back, trying to still her jerking hips, silently telling her to take it slower.

Faith breathed out heavily as she laid her forehead against Buffy's and stilled her movements. They just laid there for a moment, revelling in the feel of one another. Buffy could feel Faith's heart hammering in her chest in time to her own racing heart and she brushed her lips against Faith's, sighing softly at the feel of Faith's lips against her own. Everything about this was so new and completely unchartered territory. Even though she'd had a few dreams of this happening, nothing came close to the real thing.

Buffy spread her legs a little more, pulling Faith closer to her and they both moaned when their pussies touched for the first time. Buffy could feel how wet she was, she could smell Faith's arousal mixing with her own and it was driving her completely insane with lust. The only light in the room came from the bathroom and it illuminated Faith's face in a way that made her look as if she was a little scared. Buffy wasn't going to ask her, she didn't want to speak. She didn't want to break the spell they'd fallen into.

Faith lifted herself up a little, leaning on one hand as she trailed the other over Buffy's side. Her wet hair hung over her face, tickling Buffy's shoulders with every small drop of water that rolled off. Faith grinned down at her as she cupped her breast, rolling her hardening nipple with her thumb as Buffy arched up into her. She wanted to touch Faith, explore her perfectly toned body, but she wasn't sure where to start. Her hands were already shaking as she ran them up and down her back, causing Faith to shiver each time. She pushed Faith's hair behind her shoulders and gripped onto the back of her neck, pulling her in for a deep kiss, unable to keep staring at her without kissing those delectable lips she was unashamedly growing addicted to.

Wanting to take some control and take the lead, Buffy urged Faith onto her back, breaking away from the kiss as she moved to straddle her hips. Faith raised an eyebrow up at her as she ran her hands up Buffy's thighs.

"Couldn't resist taking the lead, could ya?"

"No," Buffy said with a shy smile. "You don't mind, do you?"

"Do ya hear me complaining?" Faith smirked and she reached for Buffy's hand and placed it on her chest. "Touch me, B. Don't tease me."

If what happened earlier between them was any indication of what would come throughout the night, Buffy knew just how to touch her, but she wasn't so sure she wouldn't be able to not tease her. Faith's body was so warm and she ran both her hands up her stomach slowly, unable to get over how soft Faith's skin was. It'd been awhile since she'd been with anyone and she knew it had been for Faith too. Trying not to think about Faith's past sexual conquests, she watched as her hands reached Faith's breasts. Faith laid there, staring up at her and she bit her lip as Buffy's fingers circled over her hard nipples. Swallowing her nervousness, she leaned forward and kissed her lightly on the lips before moving to trail light kisses over her jaw and down her neck.

Faith took one of her hands in her own and slowly led it down her body and between her legs, showing Buffy just what she wanted, where she wanted to be touched. Buffy was tentative at first, unsure of just how to touch her, but realized it was pretty much the same as touching herself. She felt the liquid heat of Faith's pussy as she slid her fingertips over her folds. She circled over Faith's clit, watching as Faith bit her lower lip and raised her hips, begging for more.

"Just like that," Faith groaned as she gripped on Buffy's wrist. "Harder, B."

"Harder?"

"You ain't gonna break me," Faith whispered as she placed her fingers over Buffy's and forced her to press harder against her clit. "Make me _feel_ it. The one thing about us both bein' slayers is that we can't hurt each other."

Buffy pressed harder into her clit and Faith's hand fell away from her own as she let out a low moan. Buffy kissed her, their tongues duelling as she continued her ministrations on Faith's clit, a hard yet slow torturous assault that Faith was completely loving. Buffy couldn't believe how turned on she was getting and she could feel her juices coating her pussy, her clit throbbing, aching to be touched.

She always wondered what kind of a lover Faith was. She had heard the stories from Xander one night when they'd all started drinking. Faith was a vocal lover, not afraid to tell the other what she wanted, how she wanted it. She was also very aggressive, but Buffy knew given the right situation things could be completely different. Maybe it'd be up to her to show Faith that there's more than just aggressive sex that feels good.

_Stop thinking so much_, Buffy scolded herself and she pulled back from Faith's lips, breathing heavily. She leaned in and whispered into Faith's ear, "I want you to touch me."

She felt Faith shiver under her and she held her breath as Faith ran her hand over the outside of her thigh. She gasped when Faith's fingers finally reached their destination and she rolled her hips against her hand, circling Faith's clit harder.

"Fuck, you're soaked, B," Faith hissed as she slicked her fingers over the length of her slit before tweaking her clit and causing Buffy to roll her hips harder. "Guess I ain't the only one who suffers from the hungries and hornies after a fight, huh?"

"It's not that, Faith. It's _you_ doing this to me."

"Wicked."

Buffy tried to copy Faith's movements, still a little unsure of how to make her feel good, but if Faith's constant moans were any indication, she knew she was definitely doing something right. She was close, she could feel her orgasm building and she wasn't sure she'd be able to hold back for very long. After earlier and being left just on the brink, she knew it wouldn't take much more.

"Put your fingers inside of me, B."

Buffy slid a finger inside of her, feeling the heat and the wetness coat her finger instantly. Faith followed her lead, plunging two fingers hard inside of her, stunning her at the sudden force and unexpectedness of it. Faith put her other hand on the back of Buffy's neck, pulling her in for a deep, passionate kiss as they brought each other over the edge. She was a little surprised that they both came together, just barely seconds apart and she kept her fingers buried inside of Faith, feeling her pussy spasm around her fingers and the warm gush of Faith's cum as it trickled out.

"Fuck," Faith sighed out as she broke away from the kiss and eased her fingers out of Buffy's pussy. "That fuckin' felt good."

"Mm-hmm."

Buffy slid her fingers out, sighing softly as she laid down on Faith fully and their legs intertwined, feeling as if it was just automatic between them. The release felt good and she knew it had been good for Faith too. She was far from done and she didn't even need to ask Faith if she was or not. She knew what it was like to have more stamina than the others she shared a bed with. Faith was the only one who'd be able to match it.

"What ya thinkin' about, B?"

"Round two," she chuckled as she lifted her head from Faith's shoulder to look down into her eyes.

"Oh yeah?" Faith wiggled her eyebrows and easily rolled them over. "Let me ask you something," she said, grinning as she began to roll her hips slightly against Buffy. "It takes you a lot to get worn out, doesn't it?"

"Sometimes," Buffy replied. "You up for the challenge, Faith?"

"Are you?"

Buffy responded with a hot kiss that left them both breathing heavily in a matter of seconds. Her mind was so far from the fight they were going to walk into tomorrow and all she could do was get lost in Faith. Even as nervous as she still felt she had no doubt in the back of her mind that this would be one night they'd both remember for a long time. It was, after all, their first time together.

Thunder crashed outside as they rolled over on the bed together, falling away from the rest of the world and their responsibilities with ease. Tomorrow, Buffy knew, they'd worry about the Neqa'el and closing the portal. Tomorrow they'd deal with this problem before it became a full-blown apocalypse. Tomorrow they'd wake up, hopefully in each other's arms and whisper sweet nothings to one another before reality came crashing back down and they had to step up and be who they were. And for right now, all they were was Buffy and Faith, two women in love with one another, two women who never thought the possibility of being together would be so real.


	14. Chapter 13

**Chapter Thirteen**

Faith woke just a few short hours after she and Buffy had fallen asleep. The rain was coming down harder now. Normally the sound of the rain relaxed her, but not today. She felt Buffy stir next to her and she turned to look over at her in the dark room. Buffy laid on her side facing her. In that moment Faith thought she never looked more beautiful and at ease. She knew what selfless wish she was going to make for Buffy. She wanted her to have everything she truly wanted deep down inside. She wanted the burden of being a slayer gone for Buffy, if not completely, just a little bit at least. She wanted to be there with Buffy, knowing now that her place was with her.

She honestly couldn't see herself doing anything else now without being at Buffy's side. Last night had taken her to new heights and it wasn't just the sex, it was the emotional connection she'd felt with Buffy. She remembered how things started with that kiss during that sparring session, how she felt when Buffy had kissed her back and how she felt when she watched Buffy try to go through the motions of denying what she was feeling. She held back the laugh at that particular memory and moved in to kiss Buffy softly, hoping to wake her so they could have some time alone before the fight later.

"Mmm," Buffy moaned softly as she moved closer to Faith and kissed her back. "Morning."

"Hey," Faith grinned as she watched Buffy open her eyes.

"Isn't it a little early to be awake?" Buffy asked, yawning as she snuggled into Faith's side.

"Maybe, but I was hoping maybe we could try somethin' I've never done before."

"What's that?"

"Mornin' sex," Faith purred as she ran her hand down Buffy's side.

Faith groaned softly as Buffy slipped her thigh between her legs. She could feel how wet Buffy was already and it made her pussy throb. Just as she was about to capture Buffy's lips in a hot kiss, a few sharp knocks sounded on the door.

"Buff, I know it's early, but I've been trying to get through on the intercom," Xander said through the door. "The priest just arrived and I thought you'd want to be there while he blesses the sword."

Buffy sighed heavily and placed a finger over Faith's lips before she could tell Xander off. "Give me a few minutes, Xand."

"Any idea where Faith is?"

"Yeah. She's in here with me."

They both laughed when they heard Xander make a squeaking noise before he walked away from the door. They shared a brief kiss before they got out of bed and dressed in the gear Andrew had given them. Faith sat on the edge of the bed and laced up her boots while Buffy stood in front of the mirror on the dresser and pulled her hair back into a tight ponytail.

"One of these days, soon as we finish with the Neqa'el, you and me are gonna go somewhere where we can spend all day in bed without getting interrupted," Faith said as she looked over at Buffy in the reflection of the mirror and saw her smile. "You know, if you're cool with that."

"Why wouldn't I be?" Buffy asked and she turned around slowly. "Last night was...it was amazing, Faith. _You_ are amazing."

"Yeah?"

Buffy nodded and walked over to her and pulled her up from the bed. "Yeah," she said and sighed heavily as she wrapped her arms around Faith's neck. "Are you ready for this?"

"For what?"

"This fight."

"Ready as I'll ever be."

Faith kissed her, keeping it chaste since she knew if she didn't, they'd never make it down to the control room. Buffy grabbed the scythe and they headed for Faith's room to get her sword that Buffy got her. She grinned as she slid the dagger into the side of her boot and gave her sword a few twirls.

"Gonna break this baby in today," Faith chuckled as Buffy just stood in the doorway watching her.

"Where's Kennedy? I thought she was sleeping in here?"

Faith shrugged and looked over at the bed, the sheets thrown to one side. "Musta gotten up already. Come on," she said as she reached for Buffy's hand. "Let's go down and get this shit started."

They quickly made their way down to the control room. Everyone else was already there and standing off to one side. Buffy let go of Faith's hand and moved through the group of slayers to the front and stood next to Willow. Faith hung back a little, looking at the small, short and fat priest that was examining the sword laid out on a card table one of them had set up. She spotted Xander and Andrew at the monitors and she walked over and joined them.

"Any sign of them?" She asked Xander quietly as she looked over the monitors that showed the premises of the castle.

"Not one. I've heard from the others around the world that didn't make it here that they haven't seen them in hours."

"Maybe they know what we're doing?" Andrew said softly and both Faith and Xander looked over at him. "What? Maybe they do."

"Where's Percy?" Faith asked as she looked around the room. "Have you seen him?"

"Nobody knows where he is at the moment, not even Giles," Xander replied. "Don't worry about him, Faith. Get your head in the game where it needs to be. You'll be heading out soon."

Faith sighed and looked over at Buffy. She still stood next to Willow as they watched the priest bless the sword. A soft white glow emanated from it, growing brighter, almost blinding, until the glow faded. The handle now had white veins running around it and Faith felt mesmerized by the sight of the sword. She'd never seen anything like it and wondered if they'd be able to keep it after the fight. She wanted first dibs on it, but remembered the sword she held in her hand and grinned to herself as she looked down at it.

She spotted Danu lingering by the doorway and made her way over to her. She wanted to have the chance to talk to her about her abilities to grant selfless wishes before the fight. She knew exactly what she wanted to wish for and there was no doubt about it in her mind.

"Yo," she said as she walked up to her. "Can we talk?"

"Sure," Danu nodded. "Privately?"

"Yeah, that'd work. Don't worry," Faith said as she motioned for Danu to step out into the corridor. "I won't take too much time. Just something I need to ask you."

"It is about a wish, isn't it?"

"How did ya know?"

"Intuition," Danu replied with a smile and Faith closed the door behind her. "Remember, anything you wish for needs to be completely selfless in order for it to come true."

"Oh it's selfless all right," Faith replied and she took a deep breath. "You can do anything, right?"

"I believe so, yes."

"What's the limit on a wish?"

"There really is no limit if it is limited to the same thing."

"Okay," Faith said and she took a few deep breaths as she stared at Danu. "I want to wish for Buffy. I want her to have everything she wants."

"Can you be specific?"

"I know she wants Sunnydale back to the way it was before the Hellmouth collapsed. She wants a normal life or as normal as she can get as a Slayer. I want her mom to be back. She and Dawn both need her back, well and alive. I don't want anything to change between us, or her and her friends. I just want her to know what it's like to be normal again."

"Would this be permanent or for a limited time?"

"Permanent."

"I can grant this wish, but it cannot happen right away. This is a heavy wish, Faith. It will take time for things to fall into place. Is there anything else?"

"As much as I know Buffy doesn't want to be a slayer anymore, I know she wouldn't be able to live without being one. Maybe cut down on the load she has to deal with. I mean, she ain't the only slayer now, right?"

"I cannot guarantee that part of the wish will work. There will always be evil in the world, Faith. There will always be the one thing that is dead set on taking over the world or trying to end the line. Is there anything else?"

"Tara," Faith said simply. "Bring her back too. For Willow."

"What about Kennedy?"

"She loves Willow, but even I know Willow will never love anyone the way she loves Tara. Ken will be okay. She'll find the one to fall in love with that'll love her back the way she deserves."

"And what about you, Faith?"

"I don't need no wish."

"I can allow you something selfish for what you've wished for. What is the one thing you want more than anything?"

"Money?" Faith laughed, partly joking. "Everyone always wants money, don't they?"

"Is there nothing else?"

"I never had a family," Faith said quietly. "I mean I do-I did, but my father's in jail and my mother is dead. I dunno, I think it'd be nice to actually have my family around and not be the losers I've always known them to be, you know?"

"I'm sure I can find a way to work things out for you as well," Danu said softly. "What you're asking for is a big wish. You realize that don't you?"

"I do. Just got one question for ya," Faith said. "What are the consequences? Like payment or whatever? Can't get all that for nothing."

"The world with never be free from evil. I do realize that Buffy would like to be without the burden of her slayer abilities and responsibilities, but it is not possible to have that happen. The burden will be lessened to an extreme where she can and will enjoy having a mostly normal life. This wish will not stop the evil. Remember that, Faith."

"Will do," she said with a nod. "You coming in this fight with us?"

"I have to. It may come to the point where you'll need me to end this."

Faith knew what she was saying. Danu was prepared to put her own life on the line to close the portal. Everything was slowly falling into place when it came to a plan to put an end to the Neqa'el. Faith had no doubt in her mind that it'd be one helluva fight they were walking into, one that not all of the slayers would be able to walk away from.

Faith and Danu joined the others in the control room. It was quiet and the tension, the anxiety and the fear hung heavy in the air. Faith made her way over to Buffy and stepped close to her. They shared a small smile before turning to Giles as he motioned for everyone to come near.

"As you all know this fight you're about to walk into will not be an easy one," he started as the younger slayers gathered around. "You know what you have to do out there today; you have a role to play and some Neqa'el to kill to buy the others some time. Willow will try to close the portal. If that fails, we have one last option."

"What's that?" Rona asked from behind Faith and Buffy.

"Danu is prepared to be the one whose blood is shed to close the portal. This sword will be the key to closing the portal and she-or another Neqa'el-must be drained only by the cut from this sword," Giles said as he held the sword up for the others to see. "Willow?"

"Yeah?"

"I want you to take this. I fear nothing else but killing Danu will work. Buffy, do you have anything you'd like to say before you all head out?"

"Yeah, I do," Buffy said as she turned to face the younger slayers. "What's the first rule of slaying?"

"Don't die," the girls all muttered at once.

"You all have been trained to the best of your abilities. I know you girls will all be fine out there today. Just watch your backs and kill as many as you can. Don't let them corner you and don't let more than three of them surround you. If you see anyone struggling, team up and fight. We will not retreat until the portal has been closed. Any questions?"

"What happens if there are too many down there?" Vi asked and the others murmured their concerns about being vastly outnumbered. "I know we've managed to beat what, a thousand Turok-Han, but this is no different, is it?"

"Just stick together and kill them," Buffy said and she glanced over at Faith for a split second. "Anything else?" Buffy waited and when nobody said a word, she nodded her head. "Let's go."

"You ready for this?" Kennedy asked as she joined Faith and Buffy as they led the girls out of the control room. "Bet you can't wait to get out there and fight."

"You know I been itchin' for a good fight. Just stick near. Don't wanna worry about your ass while we're down there."

"Why would you worry about me?"

"You're one of my best friends, idiot."

"Thanks, asshole."

Buffy laughed at their exchange and she grabbed onto Faith's hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. Faith wanted to turn to give Buffy a kiss, but wasn't sure how she'd react to such a blatant display of affection in front of everyone else. Holding hands was one thing, kissing her was something else completely. They marched out of the castle into the pouring rain and headed towards the edge of the barrier.

"Wills, is the barrier strong enough to hold if they try to get past?" Buffy asked, still holding onto Faith's hand as they walked along the grass.

"It's stronger this time. It'll hold."

"I just don't want anything to happen to Dawn, Xander, and Giles while we're down there."

"What about Andrew?" Kennedy asked and Buffy rolled her eyes. "Come on, Buffy, I know you don't like the guy but he's as much of a part of us as anyone else."

"Is it just me or is this rain when we're about to walk into a fight fuckin' cliché?" Faith asked, chuckling softly as Buffy squeezed her hand a little harder.

"It's not just you," Buffy replied. "And I don't hate Andrew. He's just...annoying sometimes," she said to Kennedy. "Doesn't mean I don't like him."

Faith's heart started racing as they passed through the barrier one by one. Nobody spoke as they made their way towards the caves. The anticipation was building with every step they took and Faith was itching and craving a good fight. Being down and out for over a week was too much for her. She needed the release only a fight would give her. Fighting the Neqa'el when they broke past the barrier would be nothing compared to what they were about to walk into, that she knew for a fact.

Buffy took the lead when they reached the caves. Faith was right behind her; Willow and Kennedy following closely behind while the younger slayers filed in one by one. She held on to Buffy's hand, not letting go as they followed the main tunnel down. It was quiet other than the sounds of their footsteps echoing off the damp stone walls and when they reached the entrance to the cavern, they found it lit by hundreds of torches and void of any Neqa'el.

"Where are they?" Willow whispered as they came to a stop.

"I don't know," Buffy whispered back and she turned to Danu. "Any idea where they are?"

"Hiding. Waiting. They are here," she said quietly. "Be prepared for the first attack."

Faith looked over at Buffy, wanting to give her a kiss before the fight began. She wanted to tell her she loved her in case something happened to either of them. But she held back, giving her hand a gentle squeeze before letting go. Faith checked out her surroundings, trying to determine where the Neqa'el would come out from wherever they were hiding. She gripped onto her sword, ready as she would ever be. Willow held the sword the priest had blessed and the look of determination on her face almost shocked her. She'd never seen Willow like this. She didn't think she'd be able to handle herself in this fight, but she knew Willow was capable of being able to fight just as well as they all could.

They spread out, Faith staying by Buffy's side, feeling like she should stay with her instead of going off with the younger slayers to help them in the fight that was coming any moment now. Danu was with Willow, both standing a few feet away from the others.

"B," Faith whispered as she stepped closer to her and placed a hand on her lower back. "If we don't make it outta here..."

"We'll make it out of here, Faith."

"If we don't..." she sighed and took a deep breath, feeling more nervous than she ever had before in her life. "Just know that I love you more than anything in this world."

"I know," Buffy smiled sweetly and quickly kissed her on the lips. "I love you too."

Hearing Buffy say the words made her heart swell and she grinned so widely her cheeks hurt. She knew Buffy loved her even though she hadn't said it before, and after last night and being there in the caves about to fight the Neqa'el, it made it feel so real and she didn't doubt Buffy's quiet admission of love. She couldn't hold herself back any longer. She needed to kiss Buffy. She wrapped an arm around Buffy and pulled her in for a kiss. She felt Buffy hesitate for a moment as a few gasps were heard from the others, but she quickly melted into the kiss. It didn't last for as long as Faith would've liked it to, but she pulled back with a smile, leaning in to plant a series of soft kisses on Buffy's lips before she stepped back.

They both smiled, but the small moment between them quickly ended at the sound of wind rushing through the cavern as the portal appeared in the far corner, swirling, humming as it came to life in midair. What followed was the sound of fluttering wings as dozens upon dozens of Neqa'el flew out of the portal. Faith could feel the adrenaline coursing through her veins instantly and she jumped right into the middle of the fight, taking out two Neqa'el with ease.

"Let's go!" Buffy yelled out, motioning the slayers forward.

Faith fell into the fight, charging after the dark haired Neqa'el that was coming straight at her. She spun around with a roundhouse kick to the Neqa'el's chest, sending it flying into three others right behind it. She held her sword at the ready, grinning as the Neqa'el flew towards her, landing a foot in front of her and swung hard at her head with its fist. She ducked quickly, sweeping her leg around and kicked the Neqa'el's legs out from underneath it.

"Come on, fight you little bitch!" Faith laughed as she kicked at its head hard with her steel toe boots. "I know you can fight. Show me what you got."

The Neqa'el let out a growl as Faith kicked at its head once more. She stood back, allowing it to get to its feet before she used the butt of her sword to hit the Neqa'el in the face. Faith had to move quickly to avoid the sword it swung at her head and she rolled to the ground and away from it, leaping to her feet quickly as the Neqa'el charged at her once again.

Faith switched her sword to her other hand, throwing a hard right hook at the Neqa'el when it got close enough. It felt like she'd punched a brick wall and the pain in her hand was almost unbearable. The pain set her back half a second and she felt the blood pool in her mouth the instant the Neqa'el sent a crushing blow to her face.

Spitting out the blood and checking quickly to make sure she hadn't broken any of her teeth, she lunged forward, tacking the Neqa'el to the ground and pummelling her fists into its face relentlessly. She stepped up and pressed the tip of her sword to its neck. Her heart was thundering in her chest and she could barely hear the sounds of the fighting that surrounded her as she stared down at the barely moving Neqa'el. It stared up at her with swollen, bloody eyes, silently pleading for her to end its life, to end its suffering she'd put it through.

She sucked in a deep breath and plunged the sword through its neck, black blood spurting out, the gurgling sound the Neqa'el made making her feel a rush of power she felt whenever she killed a demon or dusted a vampire. She sliced off its head and turned around, finding herself immediately surrounded by six Neqa'el and none of the slayers near to help her fight them off.

Faith frantically looked around for Buffy or Kennedy, but she couldn't see them in the mass of the fighting surrounding her. The Neqa'el surrounding her took flight, circling her like vultures about to get their first meal of the day.

Choosing not to panic, she grabbed a hold of the closest Neqa'el pulling it down from midair and head-butted it hard. Two others swept down and tried to grab onto her, but she was quick on her feet, swinging her sword around and decapitating the one on her left with ease.

"Need a hand, Slayer?" Buffy asked as she made her way over, using the scythe on the Neqa'el about to lunge its sword at Faith.

"Would be stupid of me to say no," Faith chuckled and they stood back to back, ready for the others that flew above.

They fought together, their blows timed as the Neqa'el swept down, crying out as they tried to grab a hold of both of them. Faith couldn't help but watch Buffy out of the corner of her eye as she fought two Neqa'el at once. Buffy never failed to leave Faith in awe at the effortlessness way she moved during a fight.

One of the Neqa'el got too close to Faith and she threw a hard uppercut, swinging her sword around as it flew up in the air. She decapitated it before its feet could reach the ground. Its body slumped to the cavern floor with a heavy thud, its head rolling along the dusty ground towards Buffy. She was breathing heavily, the adrenaline acting like a drug now. She couldn't get enough of the fight and it'd only just begun.

"Guys, we have a problem!" Willow shouted as she sent a group of Neqa'el surrounding her back with a force push spell. "They won't stop coming out of the portal! We have to close it now!"

"Where's Danu?" Buffy shouted back as she clashed with the Neqa'el she was fighting, its sword clanging against her scythe with every flourish. "Find her! End it now, Wills!"

Faith lost herself in the momentum of the fight, running over to a group of younger slayers struggling to fight off the dozens of Neqa'el corning them. She launched herself off a boulder the size of a mid-size sedan, spinning midair and kicking three Neqa'el away from the girls. A loud cry echoed throughout the cavern and the Neqa'el pushed back to one side, the slayers standing on the other.

"What's going on?" Vi whispered next to Faith. "Are they retreating?"

"No," Faith said as she shook her head. "They aren't retreating."

"Push forward!" Buffy yelled. Danu and Willow made their way towards the portal quickly. "Cover them," Buffy said to the three slayers closest to them. "Don't let anything stop them from closing it!"

Faith led the rest forward, moving with Buffy and Kennedy as they went head to head with the line of Neqa'el. The slayers let out a roar, a battle cry as the fight resumed. They were relentless, taking each Neqa'el out as quickly as they could, watching each body fall to the ground one by one. A few slayers weren't so lucky as they weren't quick enough to avoid the blow from the Neqa'el's swords. Pushing onwards, Faith stuck to Buffy's side, trying to take each of them down.

"Any more coming outta that portal, B?"

"Not that I can see. Where did Willow go?"

"Don't see her anywhere," Faith said quickly as she looked around for Willow. Danu was at the portal with the three slayers, fighting the Neqa'el that were pushing forward, trying to pull them away from the portal. "Buffy!" Faith cried out as she was tackled to the ground by a Neqa'el twice her size.

She was attacked from behind and she cursed under her breath for letting her guard down. The Neqa'el that attacked her got a few lucky shots in, mostly to her chest, but the one to the side of her head left her dizzy and breathless. She rose to her feet and twisted around, striking the Neqa'el with her sword. As its head fell to the ground, she dropkicked it like a football across the cavern, smirking as it hit the wall and splattered.

"Hey fucker," Faith said as she grabbed the wings of the Neqa'el struggling to keep Buffy pinned to the ground. "Why don't ya pick on someone your own size?"

"Like you?" It growled at her, laughing sinisterly as it flexed its wings out and sent her flying backwards.

Faith coughed when she hit the ground, the air rushing out of her lungs at the impact. She picked herself up from the ground, her chest burning as she struggled to breathe. She rolled forward as the Neqa'el flew low towards her and she used her feet to kick it back before she flipped up and used all her strength to swing her sword at its thick, meaty neck.

The scene around her had dead bodies of the Neqa'el littered throughout the cavern and she saw more than a handful of slayers on the ground, bloody and lifeless. Something stirred inside of her seeing all the dead bodies around her and she pushed on, determined to put an end to the Neqa'el.

Faith spotted Willow flying-_flying_-with the blessed sword in hand; taking out every Neqa'el she passed by without so much a blink of an eye. She landed by the portal, using the same spell she had used before to force push the Neqa'el away. Faith continued to fight, not letting the Neqa'el drag her down or corner her. She rushed to join the younger slayers who had formed a group and helped them fight off the dozens of Neqa'el surrounding them.

"Hold them back!" Willow yelled out as she grabbed Danu. "Buffy, find out from Xander the status of the rest of the Neqa'el around the world. The more we've taken out when I close the portal the better."

"On it, Wills," Buffy shouted in reply and pulled the mouthpiece of her headset close. "Xander, you there? Find out if the others have defeated the Neqa'el. They have?" Buffy sighed in relief and motioned to Willow to eliminate Danu to close the portal. "Do it now, Willow!"

Faith tried to hold back the Neqa'el surrounding her, Kennedy, and the younger slayers to no avail. A blinding white light caused her and the others to fly back and hit the ground, knocking the wind out of them. Faith blinked, furiously trying to clear her vision and an overwhelming surge of nausea came over her before everything went black.

* * *

Buffy was the first to come to, gasping for air and struggling to see in the pitch black. The torches had been blown out with the blinding white light and she fumbled for the flashlight on her belt. She knew it wasn't over. Not yet. She could still hear the fluttering wings of the Neqa'el as they flew above, waiting for their moment to strike back. She had to wonder if that spell Willow had used to push them back, even if it worked just a little, had pissed them off. They were supposed to be immune to magic, but Buffy wondered if the factor of them being so close to the portal made a difference.

"_Buff? What's happening down there? We've lost visual."_

"Not now, Xander," Buffy said through gritted teeth.

One by one the torches around the cavern were lit up and Buffy looked above to see the Neqa'el still hovering. She couldn't see Willow anywhere and Danu was still standing where the portal had been before the brightness and then the utter darkness. Buffy looked around for Faith and felt almost a sense of relief wash over her when she saw her standing by Kennedy and a small group of younger slayers, her sword at the ready.

"Where's the fuckin' portal?" Faith said just loud enough for Buffy to hear her halfway across the cavern. "Did she close it?"

Buffy took a few cautious steps towards Danu while keeping her eye on the Neqa'el still flying above. She still couldn't see Willow, but wasn't going to worry about her. She knew Willow could handle herself. The closer she got to Danu, the more it started to hit her that the portal had been closed. Danu was barely standing by the time she reached her and she saw the sword lying on the ground, the tip covered in black blood.

"She did it," Danu whispered as she held her stomach. "She closed it."

"She did it?"

"Couldn't get any of the others close enough, not even with that force push spell I taught her," Danu said hoarsely and she stumbled forward and knelt on the ground still clutching her stomach. "It's not over yet, Buffy. You must kill them all. You cannot allow any of them to leave this cave or they'll find a way to open another portal somewhere else."

"Are you..."

"It's over," she whispered weakly. "It's over for me. I've done all I can. Tell Faith her wish has been looked after. It'll happen soon."

"What wish?" Buffy asked, moving closer to Danu and kneeling on the ground next to her. "She made a wish?"

"For you. She wished for _you_, Buffy. Just tell her it'll happen soon. She'll know what I mean."

Buffy picked up the sword and stepped back away from Danu as she fell forward. She'd been around far too much death to stand there and watch Danu take her last breath. She walked over to the others as they gathered in the middle of the cavern.

"Why aren't they fighting?" Rona asked as they all looked up at the Neqa'el above.

"They know they've lost. They're holding back," Faith replied. "B, you seen Willow anywhere?"

"No, I haven't."

"Did she close it?"

"It's closed," Buffy whispered. "Danu said your wish will happen soon. What did you wish for, Faith?"

"Now definitely ain't the time to get into this, B. Still gotta kill these fuckers, you know, once they decide to stop being pussies!" Faith yelled up at the Neqa'el.

"_Buff?"_

"What, Xander?" Buffy asked as she kept her eyes on the Neqa'el.

"_Willow is back here. Whatever hit her when she stabbed Danu drained her. She managed to make it back here before she collapsed. Dr. Ritz is tending to her. What's the status down there?"_

"Portal is closed. We got about twenty Neqa'el flying over us right now. And Percy is down here?"

"_What?"_

Buffy didn't answer him as she watched Percy walk out from behind a row of boulders. He looked furious and the first thing she noticed was his soft blue eyes had turned almost black. She got that sickening feeling that she was right about him, that she was right about how he was working on the Neqa'el's side all this time.

"You've ruined our chances at balancing good and evil," Percy growled. "Do you realize what you've done?"

"I saved a lot of lives?" Buffy said and shrugged as she tossed the scythe to Faith and walked over with the sword. "This balancing the good and evil is bullshit, Percy. All it's been doing is taking the lives of slayers around the world."

"You have too many here now," he said with a sneer. "You believe you are fighting for the good when you're not. You're disrupting the good, aiding the evil, feeding it just as you've fed the First before."

"So it's back?"

"No," Percy sighed. "The First is not back. He never _left_. He's simply only banished beyond the mortal plane, waiting for his chance to return. The Neqa'el descended down on earth to eliminate the slayer line so the First would have no reason to want to return before he is able to."

"You wanna know what I think, Tweed?" Faith asked as she strolled up to him and grabbed him by the front of his jacket. "I think you're spewing a ton of bullshit. What the hell are you getting outta all this?"

"There was to be a battle, one to end it all, and I was to have a guaranteed place where I was to be kept safe and alive. One of the perks of letting a trail of information make it to them."

"That's it? That's all you did?" Faith laughed as she pushed him back. "I'm gonna go out on a limb here and say there's no battle to end it all happening."

"No. You've closed the portal. It could be years, centuries before another is able to open. It took me nearly my whole life picking up where my father left off to open the portal."

"And how fuckin' convenient it was for you that it happened to open here in the caves not too far from hundreds of slayers, huh?"

Buffy couldn't stop the grin that slipped out as she watched Faith interrogate Percy. She still kept her eye on the Neqa'el above. They seemed to be waiting and for what, she wasn't sure. They had nothing left to fight for now other than their lives and she knew they wouldn't just lie down and allow her and the rest of the slayers to kill them without a fight. And then they had to deal with Percy, but from the looks of things, Faith seemed to be handling him just fine on her own.

The sword she held in her hand seemed to be humming and she only noticed it when it started becoming more insistent. She glanced down at the sword and watched the veins in the handle grow out and wrap around her entire hand and wrist. She tried not to panic, but watching as the veins sunk into her own skin and continued to glow really freaked her out.

"B, what the fuck is happening?" Faith asked, looking over at Buffy alarmed. "Buffy?"

"I don't know! It just started humming and then...this happened!"

"Let go of it then."

"I can't!" Buffy shouted as she tried to let go of the sword. "Shit! He's getting away," she said as she pointed to Percy making a quick retreat to one of the many tunnels that led out of the cavern.

The Neqa'el flying above chose that moment to sweep down and attack. Faith stayed close as they fought off the dozens of Neqa'el coming at them. With every blow, every swipe, every kick, Buffy realized that the Neqa'el were weaker than they had been before. She wondered if it had to do with the portal being closed, but she didn't have a moment to dwell on it.

Bodies fell left and right as Buffy swung the sword flawlessly at each of them. The sword continued to hum and she felt a power she'd never felt before coursing through her veins. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Faith's sword being kicked out of her hand and she turned to her, ready to fight off the Neqa'el surrounding her since she didn't have any weapons, not even the scythe.

Faith pulled out twin butterfly daggers from her belt and winked at Buffy as she lunged towards the closest Neqa'el. Buffy turned back to the two Neqa'el quickly rushing at her from behind. Rona whistled at Buffy and she tossed the scythe at her. She caught it in her left hand and she grinned as the Neqa'el came to a stop. They actually looked terrified and they had every right to be. They were dead, whether it happened in the next couple of seconds or minutes.

"It's over," Buffy said as she walked towards them, watching them back away, cowering. "You've lost. It's done. What you came here to do, you've failed."

"Or maybe you have," the one of the right said. "What we came here to do was restore the balance. The balance is not restored and the First Evil will return to this plane in time. You think this battle was the one to end it all? You are wrong, Slayer. This is only the beginning of the end."

"We've fought the First before and won."

"No, you didn't win. You only stopped the plan it had to end the slayer line. The First Evil will return and it will succeed this time in its plans to end the slayer line completely."

Faith came in from behind, using her daggers to decapitate the Neqa'el before it could say another word. "Come on, B," she said, grinning as she pointed to the last of the Neqa'el the younger slayers were fighting. "Let's end this."

"One of us needs to go after Percy," Buffy said as she looked around the cavern. "We can't just let him get away, Faith!"

"We'll deal with that tweed bastard later. Come on!"

Buffy handed her the scythe and followed her towards the last of the Neqa'el. The younger slayers had it under control, fighting them off and killing them with practiced ease. When the last one fell to the ground, the veins coming out from the sword disappeared from her hand and she sighed in relief as she dropped it to the ground.

"That's it?" Kennedy asked as she walked over to Buffy and Faith. "Is it over?"

"Looks like," Faith replied with a shrug. "Any causalities this time?"

"Some. Others have a few injuries but nothing that can't be taken care of."

Buffy sighed in relief as she looked around the cavern, wondering if it truly was over now. Her heart was racing with the adrenaline still coursing through her entire body. She went to pick up the sword from the ground and was shocked to find it had completely disappeared. The only evidence of it having been there near her feet was the burnt outline of the sword.

"Weird," she said under her breath as she turned to Faith and Kennedy. "Let's round up the girls and get home."

"Is it just me or were you guys hoping for a much bigger fight?" Faith asked as they led the way out of the cavern with the younger slayers following behind. "Something feels like it's lacking here, don't it?"

"Please," Kennedy laughed. "That was one hell of a fight, Faith. After all those months with nothing happening, you'd think you'd be satisfied with this."

"Oh I'm satisfied," Faith said and she playfully bumped into Buffy's shoulder. "But I got a few urges that need to be taken care of right about now that only Buffy can help me out with, if ya know what I mean."

"God, Faith. Is that all you ever think about? Eating, fighting and fucking?" Kennedy asked, smirking at Buffy as she blushed furiously.

"Damn right," Faith nodded and she slipped an arm around Buffy's shoulders with ease. "I ain't the only one though, am I, babe?"

"You aren't the only one," Buffy said quietly, smiling to herself as Kennedy and Faith both laughed and exchanged high fives.

They walked out of the cave and into the pouring rain, all of them stopping suddenly when the ground began to shake violently. They turned and watched as the mouth of the cave collapsed, boulders the size of cars falling and closing it up, making it look as if it was never there in the first place. Buffy stood there with Faith still next to her with her arm over her shoulders and they stared at the closed opening while the others turned and headed back to the castle.

"Guess that means it's over?" Faith said quietly as she turned to look at Buffy.

"I guess so."

"I was thinkin'..." Faith trailed off and sighed heavily. "Maybe we could skip the whole explaining everything that went down and go straight to your room or mine."

"You know we can't do that."

"Fuck," she grumbled and pulled Buffy close to her. "After a fight like that, being so fuckin' close to you, I just wanna-"

Buffy cut her off with an intense kiss. The rain was coming down hard and it was cold and wet, but Faith was heating Buffy up just by kissing her back with the same intensity and desire. Buffy held her by the back of the head, not letting her pull back when she tried to. She sucked on Faith's lower lip for a second before pulling back, leaving them both breathless, and the sexual tension between them skyrocketing as they stared into one another's eyes.

She wondered if they'd been together before if it'd be like this, if all she could think about after a fight was fucking Faith until they both collapsed from exhaustion hours later. She leaned in for another kiss, whispering, "I want you" against Faith's lips as they fell into their embrace, the rest of the world fading away.


	15. Chapter 14

**Chapter Fourteen**

The castle was buzzing with chatter when Buffy and Faith made it back. They were the last ones, having been far too caught up in making out in the rain. Nobody paid much attention to them, most of the younger slayers devouring the pizza that was on the kitchen counters. Despite all the chaos that had just erupted and the few slayers that had fallen, everyone was in good spirits, relieved and happy that the portal was closed and that the Neqa'el had been eliminated.

"Damn, Andy made good on his promise to cook us his pizza," Faith said as she grabbed a slice. "Dude should be a professional cook or something, huh, B?"

"Sure."

"Ain't feeling the first H, are ya?" Faith grinned as she took a bite, nearly polishing off the slice.

"Not right now, no."

Faith wiggled her eyebrows and grabbed another slice. "Hey Ken, pass me one, will ya?" She shouted as Kennedy took a beer out of the fridge. She tossed Faith a can and offered Buffy one. Buffy shook her head no and grabbed a slice of pizza for herself.

"If you two have a moment before you head off for the night, I'd like to speak with you," Giles said from behind them. "It'll be quick."

Faith and Buffy both rolled their eyes and they followed Giles up to his and Willow's office. Faith knew he wanted to go over everything that had happened down in the cave and that he wanted details- big, long, book-worthy details. She had other things on her mind, but she knew what came first in a situation like this.

Giles motioned for them to take a seat on the couch as he sat down behind his desk. He cleared his throat as he removed his glasses and placed them on top of the mountain of papers and books in front of him. Faith and Buffy exchanged a look, both knowing he wasn't about to talk about what had happened down in the cave with the Neqa'el.

"I must say your relationship has caught me slightly off-guard," he said, a smile forcing its way out slowly. "But I did see it coming long before this. I know how the both of you finally worked through your differences and mended your past to become the friends you should have always been. I believe your souls are connected and not only because of the slayer connection you share."

"Great, yeah. We're soul mates and all that. Thought you wanted us up here to talk about the big showdown with the Neqa'el?" Faith asked and Buffy reached for her hand, giving it a gentle squeeze. "What, B?"

"Just listen to what he has to say," she said softly, smiling at her.

"As I was saying, you are connected through your souls. Most people never find the One. They'll spend their whole lives searching and they never find them, or they do and something rather unfortunate happens that separates them for the rest of their lifetime."

"Giles-"

"Faith, I promise you I won't take much of your time and that what I am saying is worth your patience."

"She doesn't have much patience," Buffy said softly. She and Giles laughed and Faith let go of Buffy's hand and crossed her arms over her chest. "I think he's trying to ask us if we're in love," she whispered to Faith.

"Hell yeah we are," Faith grinned. "Is that what you wanted to know, Giles? You want to know if I love Buffy and that I won't leave her and hurt her? You been trying on those fatherly shoes again?"

"I look at both of you as the daughters I've never had and I only want the best for you. You both deserve a slice of happiness in this god-forsaken world and-"

"I think he's gonna give us the sex talk, B," Faith chuckled, interrupting him before he could finish speaking. "Love to stick around and chat, Giles, but I got places to be and Buffy to do, so-"

"Faith!" Buffy smacked her across the arm, clearly embarrassed with the sudden turn in the conversation. "Go wait outside."

"I'll behave," she muttered and sunk deep into the couch.

How they got to this point, Faith wasn't sure, but everything felt just right. With their friendship and then their new relationship, everything slowly felt as if it was falling into place and for once in her life she was content about where and who she was. She forgot her past, forgot where she came from, because in her mind now, none of that mattered anymore.

She barely listened to a word Giles was saying, her thoughts running rampant through her mind, her eyes only wanting to look at Buffy, her body urging for the touch she knew she'd get from Buffy once they were alone. She broke out of her trance and spotted a silver case sitting on the coffee table. She opened it and pulled out one of the hand rolled cigarettes Giles very rarely smoked himself.

"Giles, ya got a light?" Faith asked and within a second Giles tossed her a Zippo and she caught it, smiling as she flicked it open and lit her cigarette. "Thanks."

"I really wish you wouldn't smoke," Giles said quietly as she tossed the lighter back to him. "But you have had a trying day. As I was saying," he said and he cleared his throat. "I believe you two have done an exceptional job in training the girls and I do not want your newfound relationship to interfere with the training these girls need right now."

"Hate to break it to ya, but these girls? They're trained to be the best damn slayers they'll ever be, Giles. Don't know what more we can do for them."

"I'm with Faith on this one," Buffy said and she grabbed the cigarette from Faith's hand and took a drag before handing it back to her. "They're ready to go out on their own, Giles. There is nothing more that we can do to prepare the girls for the world outside of this castle."

"I believe tonight is probably not the right time to discuss the future plans in training the younger slayers. We'll call a meeting in the morning and discuss it with the others as soon as Willow returns."

"Where'd she go? I haven't seen her since the portal closed down in the cavern."

"She went to the coven in England for help in restoring her magical aura. The spell she and Danu did to restore the barrier yesterday drained her. I'm surprised she was even able to go with you to fight the Neqa'el in the state she was in. She nearly died when she passed out on the roof yesterday, Buffy, but don't worry, she should be returning in the morning, good as new."

"She almost died?" Buffy asked, her voice cracking with emotion as she grabbed onto Faith's hand. "Why didn't anyone tell me it was that serious? Why didn't _she_ tell me it was that serious?"

"She'll be fine, Buffy. Don't worry about her. As soon as the portal was closed, she came back here on the last of her energy and told me what she knew she needed to do," Giles said calmly. "We'll meet in the morning, not too early. You two go off and er, get some rest."

Faith got to her feet and pulled Buffy with her. She grinned at Giles and headed for the door, tugging at Buffy's hand as she tried to get her to hurry up. Buffy looked a little out of it as Faith led the way to the stairs.

"B, what's wrong? Are ya worried about Willow?"

"Yeah."

"She'll be all right, you know she will be," Faith said with a smile as she turned to her and wrapped her arms around her. "We won, babe. We need to go celebrate."

"Did we?" Buffy asked, sighing heavily as she pushed Faith away from her. "We lost a few more girls tonight, Faith."

"Always gonna be some casualties in war. We both know that. All these girls know the risks when they walk into a fight. It's a part of our lives, our Calling. It's who we are, B, and those girls who risked their lives tonight knew that. We still won this fight," Faith said calmly and she tried to wrap her arms back around Buffy. "The portal is closed now and those Neqa'el fuckers are gone."

"I know I'm just-I'm so tired of this," Buffy sighed and she relaxed in Faith's embrace. "I've seen far too many girls go down since we fought against the First. I feel like this is my fault."

"It's not," Faith said softly. "It's not your fault, babe. Come on," she said as she tugged her towards the stairs.

Faith didn't want to push her any more in getting up to her room, but she had needs to had to take care of and despite the mood Buffy had fallen into, she knew Buffy was still thinking the same thing as she was. Faith wiggled her eyebrows as she backed up towards the stairs and Buffy rolled her eyes, a small half-smile coming out as she gave in and followed Faith up the stairs.

Every time Faith just looked at Buffy, especially in the last few weeks, she wondered how it was possible to fall even more in love with her. She never thought she'd fall in love, not with Buffy or anyone else, but the feeling alone was something she'd never experienced in her life before and it was a feeling she never wanted to end. They'd had it good so far in their relationship, but she still had a few doubts that maybe they'd gone too far, too fast together. Buffy hadn't said anything and she hadn't stopped her the night before either.

Determined to take Buffy's mind off the fight and the loss of the few slayers, she pulled her in for a crushing kiss as soon as they reached the door to Buffy's room. As much as she wanted to just rip off their protective gear and get with the naughty, she wanted to take her time to show Buffy just how much she loved her. She didn't want a fast fuck, no matter how much her body was pleading for just that. She wanted to make love to Buffy, make it last as long as she could and feel Buffy's body shudder as she came. It was the most beautiful feeling in the world and Faith couldn't quite get enough of it the night before.

"Faith," Buffy gasped as she pulled back from the kiss. "Can we...get out of these?"

"If ya want."

"It's just that...I can't feel you as much as I'd like to wearing this," she said quietly, almost shyly as she watched Faith beckon her towards the bed. "You want to hear something completely crazy?"

"Sure," Faith grinned as she started to take off her protective gear.

"All I thought about when my mind wasn't on the fight was about you and how...how amazing last night was."

"It was pretty fuckin' mind-blowing last night, B."

Faith stood before Buffy already completely naked. She smirked as she sat on the edge of the bed and casually laid back, propping herself up on her elbows to watch Buffy as she undressed. Buffy rolled her eyes, unable to hide her own smirk as she motioned to Faith to get up from the bed.

"Shower first," she said as she headed for the bathroom, tugging off her protective gear and tossing it to the floor. "These suits might protect us from sharp things but they sure don't protect us from dirt."

Faith chuckled as she walked up behind Buffy and wrapped her arms around her. She rained light kisses over her shoulder and neck as Buffy led the way into the bathroom slowly. She felt Buffy holding herself back and she knew it was because she was worried about Willow. She knew Buffy had a lot more on her mind too, mourning the fallen slayers in her own way. Determined to make her forget just for a night, she turned Buffy around in her arms and kissed her deeply.

"Mm," Buffy sighed as she pulled back from Faith. "We need to shower first, baby."

"Fine," Faith said with mock annoyance, grinning as Buffy turned around to turn on the water. "A little dirt and sweat ain't gonna kill the mood or anything, you know that right?"

"Yeah I know, but after a fight like that I just want to feel fresh and clean," Buffy said and she pulled the shower curtain back as she stepped in and under the water. "Are you coming, Faith?"

"Don't have to ask me twice."

The water was hot and it soothed their sore, tired bodies. Faith desperately tried to keep her hands off Buffy, but it was hard with her body and her hormones raging out of control. Her mind flickered back to the last shower she'd shared with Buffy and how close they'd come to fucking each other in there. Just the thought of the things she could be doing to Buffy at the moment made her hot and wet. She waited until Buffy had finished washing her hair before she crushed her lips against hers and backed her up against the wet tiled wall.

"Definitely better than making out in the rain," Buffy murmured as Faith moved her lips down Buffy's neck.

"You like me all wet, don'tcha?" Faith asked, tearing her lips away from Buffy's neck so she could look at her. "Oh yeah, you know you do."

"Oh yeah, especially when you look like a drowned rat," Buffy said, stifling her giggles as Faith playfully slapped her across the ass. "You know you're sexy," she said softly as she wrapped her arms around Faith's neck and waist and pulled her in close. "You know...I don't think I'll ever get enough of you. The way you make me feel when you touch me...it burns in all the right ways."

Faith raised an eyebrow, smiling at her as she moved back enough to run her hand up Buffy's stomach, slowly reaching the soft curve of her breasts. "You mean when I touch you like this, babe?" She asked as her fingers sought out Buffy's nipple. Buffy nodded, moaning softly in response to Faith's light yet sure touches. "Or how about when I touch you here," she asked, moving her hand down the soft expanse of Buffy's stomach and in between her thighs.

"Fuck, yes," Buffy sighed out, lifting her left leg and wrapping it around Faith's waist as Faith's fingers tripped over her clit, teasing her.

Buffy pulled her in impossibly closer and they kissed long and slow, enjoying that burning sensation they both felt, basking in the burning passion they'd longed for and found within each other. Faith knew Buffy wasn't the only one who would never get enough. Every time she just looked at Buffy lately, she felt something trigger inside of her, something that made her just want to be near her. It scared her just a little. She never did relationships before and she wasn't sure if she was becoming too clingy, too close, too quickly.

"Faith?" Buffy panted as she pulled back from Faith's lips. Buffy furrowed her brow as she ran her fingers over Faith's cheek. "What are you thinking about?"

"You. You and me. Us."

"Hmm?"

Faith moved her fingers away from Buffy's pussy and sighed heavily as she rested her hand on Buffy's hip. "Maybe now ain't the time to talk, huh?"

"Maybe not, but if there's something you need to talk about...I'm right here."

"It's just..." Faith trailed off, wondering if she should just keep her mouth shut. "You love me, right?"

"I do."

"Why?"

"Why?" Buffy asked and she smiled. "I love you because I've seen a whole different side of you since we've come here. I love you because you ended up becoming one of my best friends, Faith. I love the way you make me laugh, the way you make me cry...I love the way you make me feel when you touch me and I love that I can see how you feel about me just from looking into your eyes. Our past doesn't matter anymore, baby. It's what made us who we are. It made us stronger and it helped us grow. It might have pushed us apart before, but it pulled us together too."

"We're kinda meant to be, aren't we?" Faith asked, unable to stop smiling at everything Buffy had just said. "We're two sides of the same coin. We got our differences but we got too much the same to let that shit come between us again. Right?"

"Why do you love me, Faith?"

"Just do, B. It's somethin' I can't even explain or figure out. Just know I feel what I feel for you and that I can feel it getting stronger and deeper every second of every day. I'm crazy about you."

"Well, duh," Buffy laughed and they both yelped as the water suddenly ran cold. "Maybe that's a sign we should take this to the bed."

Buffy turned off the water and tried to get out of the shower, but Faith was relentless and impatient, pushing her back up against the wall and kissed her deeply. She ran her hands down Buffy's sides, over her ass and lifted her up. Buffy wrapped her legs around Faith's waist as they continued to kiss deeply. Faith carried Buffy from the shower to the bed, not once breaking apart from her lips and not caring they were both dripping wet and leaving a trail of water along the floor. Faith had been waiting for this since the fight ended and they left the cavern, but she didn't want to rush anything. They had all night.

Buffy unwrapped her legs from around her, sliding her body down slowly and creating delicious friction Faith felt everywhere. Buffy turned her around and pushed her down on the bed, grinning as she moved quickly to straddle her hips and pinned her hands to the bed before Faith could grab hold of her. Faith let out a soft yet guttural moan, remembering how many times Buffy had dominated her for the top position the night before. It was downright hot and she swore she almost came just a little right then.

"Damn, you're quick, Slayer."

"Oh yeah, I know," Buffy chuckled and she leaned down to lightly kiss her. "Quicker than you."

"No complaints here. Especially not when I got you on top of me. Naked. Wet. And lookin' sexy as hell."

Buffy smiled as she leaned forward and pressed her lips to Faith's. Faith felt her grip loosen on her hands and she waited until Buffy let go completely before she wrapped her arms tightly around her, pulling her flush against her as their tongues danced together in a fiery, passionate kiss. Faith wasn't sure what it was, but it felt like the first time all over again. She felt the burn of desire deep in her stomach, deep in her soul and she had to pull back from the kiss, panting as she tried to catch her breath and control herself in her lust-filled haze.

She took a moment just to look at Buffy, their faces mere inches apart. She never remembered feeling so full, so content, so at peace. Considering the fight they'd just been through, she knew she should be feeling pent up and restless. She held her breath and she could faintly hear the chatter coming from two floors down and she closed her eyes, trying to fall into a place where just she and Buffy existed. It's all she needed right now was to be with the woman who had become her best friend and lover. She needed to forget about the rest of the world as much as Buffy did. Just for one night, if anything.

Faith noticed now the small cut just above Buffy's left eyebrow and she leaned up and lightly kissed over it. She felt, not heard, Buffy sigh softly and she trailed her lips over Buffy's face, ending at her lips, kissing her so lightly she barely felt it. Buffy pouted and took Faith's lower lip between hers, sucking gently as she rocked her hips forward, seeking out the friction they both desperately wanted and needed.

"I want you," Buffy murmured against Faith's lips. "I need you, baby."

"I'm right here," Faith whispered. "I'll always be right here whenever you need me."

"Will you?" Buffy asked as she looked into her eyes. "Will you always be here, Faith?"

"Don't plan on going anywhere. Got everything I need right here," she said with a smile. "And god, when did I become such a sap?"

"When you started believing in love."

"When did _that_ happen?"

Buffy laughed and kissed her wantonly, trying to keep her quiet. There was far too much talking and not enough with the fucking, that Faith knew, but she didn't care. They had all night.

Faith swept her hands down Buffy's back, sighing against her lips as Buffy rolled her hips harder. Faith spread her legs, feeling Buffy more fully against her. She could feel the need coming from Buffy, but she was still determined to take things slow, at least for right now. They could do it hard and fast later. She gripped onto Buffy's hips and creating a slow yet sensual rhythm between them. Buffy pushed herself up on her hands, throwing her head back as she thrust harder against Faith.

She pulled Faith up until she was sitting up and they both moaned as their lips met in a slow, passionate kiss. They clutched to each other, riding out the first waves of their climax together. Faith couldn't help but wonder if it'd always be this way between them, if it would never take much for her to cum. Not like she was complaining. Nobody had _ever_ made her cum so quickly and make it last. There was just something about Buffy, something about the buzz she felt with her near, that made it feel like a drug coursing through her veins with every touch, every kiss, every time she tumbled over the edge.

"Oh god, Faith," Buffy gasped, her short nails digging into her shoulders.

"Feels so good, don't it, babe?"

Buffy nodded her head as she bit her lip and arched her back as Faith moved enough to change the angle. They were locked in an intimate kiss and there was absolutely nowhere else Faith wanted to be right at that moment. Their skin was sweaty, sticking in places they touched and Buffy came with a silent cry, her whole body shuddering as she came a second time. Faith just held her, watched her, felt her as she clutched onto her, not wanting to let go as she came down from her orgasmic high.

Faith smiled when Buffy opened her eyes and brushed aside a few strands of hair that stuck to her forehead. She was smitten. Completely head over heels in love with Buffy and there was no way she was going to hold it back. And just from the look in Buffy's eyes, she knew Buffy felt the same way.

* * *

Faith stood by the open window with nothing but the bed sheet wrapped around her and a cigarette, unlit, in one hand, a lighter in the other. Buffy slept soundly in the bed by her and she took in the sight of her under the soft morning light coming in from the windows around the room. She shivered at the cool air coming in and lit her cigarette.

She could've stayed in bed with Buffy, but she couldn't sleep. She'd been feeling restless since Buffy had fallen asleep after the fifth or six time. The reality of what had happened should've scared her. It did, but she was okay with it. She wouldn't have it any other way, especially not since the way things used to be for her. There'd always been a Big Bad around, one way or another, but aside from that factor, everything else had been pretty much all she ever wanted. At least secretly wanted, nobody ever knowing it unless she let them in.

And she'd really let Buffy in. She let her in all the way.

"Faith?" Buffy asked as she lifted her head from the pillow. "Come back to bed? The pillow isn't as warm as you are."

Faith laughed, but didn't move from the window, taking a long drag of her cigarette before she smiled at her. "Come here," she said as she opened the sheet, inviting Buffy over to her and the sort of warmth the sheet allowed in the cool morning air.

Buffy rolled her eyes, but she got out of the warmth of the heavy blanket and walked over to Faith. She kissed her as Faith wrapped her arm and the sheet around her. Buffy reached out of the sheet to tuck a few strands behind Faith's ear.

"Mine's bad, right?" She asked as she ran her hand through her tousled hair.

Faith leaned back to examine it and tried not to laugh as Buffy started to look a little worried. She shook her head no, getting another look from Buffy. "Nah, looks sexy, B. Sex hair suits you."

"Couldn't sleep?" She asked as she snuggled into Faith's side. Faith shook her head no and took another drag of her cigarette before Buffy took it from her. "It's too early to be awake. It feels like I just fell asleep."

Faith flicked her cigarette outside and wrapped her other arm around Buffy. "Let's go back to bed."

"To sleep."

"Sure," Faith chuckled as she began to back up towards the bed. "To sleep. Right. Don't tell me you're tired."

"Exhausted."

"A rare thing with us, huh?"

"Well, the last time I felt like was after we fought the First...it just drained me."

"Right," Faith said and she sighed as they got into bed and under the heavy, warm blanket together. "Ya think we're getting too old for this shit?"

"Probably. It's not like I can just quit, can I? You can't quit your destiny, your calling. Life just doesn't work out that way."

"Life ain't always fair, B, but look at it this way," Faith said, smiling as Buffy stared at her. "I got you out of everything just like you got me. It's been a long, fucked up road between us, but we made things better once we got past the whole fact that I went evil and started killing people."

"Don't forget the betrayal."

"You really don't gotta remind me," Faith said under her breath. "I thought we talked this all out awhile back?"

"We did, but we don't have to avoid it. It'll always be there whether we want it or not. I'm okay with that, Faith. We're not who we were then. We're who we are _now_."

"Which is pretty naked and together in bed the morning after the big fight with the Neqa'el," Faith laughed. "Wouldn't want it any other way."

"You were right before. You are a sap. When _did_ that happen?"

"I have no idea, but you tell anyone about it..."

"And what?" Buffy asked, leaning away from her as she cocked her head to the side. "You'll kick my ass? You think you could take me?"

"Oh I know I can take you. I got a few secret moves now."

"Oh do you?" Buffy smirked and she let out a little squeal as Faith pushed her back on the mattress and hovered over her, not quite letting their bodies touch. "What moves are those?"

"Wouldn't be so secret if I told you, would it?" Faith asked and she leaned in for a kiss. She moved to the other side of Buffy and laid next to her, grinning at the confused look that came across Buffy's face. "What's that look for, B? Thought you were exhausted?"

"I am. I just thought-I...never mind," she stammered and she curled up into Faith's side as she blushed.

"You thought we'd get a little wriggly, try that morning sex thing out?"

Buffy responded by kissing over her neck and the few small love bites she'd given her before. Faith pulled her on top and slipped a leg between her thighs. Buffy gasped softly as she leaned back. She frowned and shook her head no.

"Sore?" Faith asked softly, frowning when Buffy shook her head. "Didn't mean to hurt ya, babe."

"No, it's okay."

Faith eased Buffy onto her back and grinned as she pulled the heavy blanket back off them a little. Buffy shivered in the cool breeze that blew in through the open window and she smacked Faith playfully across the shoulder.

"You forgot to close the window."

"My bad. Seems like I was a little preoccupied with a sexy woman all naked in my arms at the time."

"Can you..." Buffy trailed off as Faith began to kiss her way over her collarbone. "It's cold, Faith."

Faith pulled the blanket over both of them as she moved her lips down Buffy's chest. She licked over each nipple and laughed as Buffy moved down and joined her under the warmth of the blanket. As much as she wanted Buffy, her body was screaming at her to get some sleep and at the same time, it was screaming at her to get some-or at least give some before falling into dreamland for a couple hours.

"Warmer now, B?"

"Much."

"What's the plan for today? Gonna go speak to Giles in a bit?"

"He said not too early," Buffy said with a pout. "It's still way too early."

"Didn't mean right now," Faith chuckled and she moved to Buffy's side and laid her head on her shoulder. "Wonder when Willow is coming home."

"I was just thinking the same thing. I hope she's okay."

"She's strong, B. She'll be fine."

"What if she's not?"

"She'll be fine," Faith repeated, hoping to hell Willow _was_ fine. "Her and Ken got some shit to hash out once she comes back. Hate seeing them like this. They used to be so fuckin' happy."

"Like we are now?"

"Yeah," she nodded. "What the hell happened with them?"

"I don't know. Maybe it's not meant to be?"

"Ken loves her, but she knows as well as we all do that Willow will never love anyone the way she loved Tara."

"I used to think I'd never love anyone more than I loved Angel," Buffy said quietly and she stopped Faith as she tried to move away at the sound of Angel's name. "No, just listen for a minute, okay? I never thought I'd love anyone more than him. I never thought it'd be possible to. Then this started between us and I'm feeling everything I felt with him and then a lot I never felt before. I think I finally found the one I can love more than Angel."

"Yeah? That's pretty heavy, B."

"Point is," Buffy said as she pulled the blanket down from over their heads and took a deep breath. "Maybe it's not Kennedy she needs to find love with. Maybe there's someone else that'll make her love the way Tara did."

"Like Danu? They were getting pretty close there."

"Maybe," Buffy shrugged. "You really think there was something going on between Willow and Danu?"

"Anything is possible, babe. We ended up together, right?" Faith asked, laughing as Buffy rolled her eyes playfully. "Wait you said "loved" Angel. That mean you ain't-"

"I stopped loving him a long time ago, Faith. It took me realizing how I feel about you to truly let him go."

"So if his curse was ever lifted, you wouldn't, you know..."

"No," Buffy said with a smile that told Faith she meant it. "Never. Not now that I'm with you."

Just as their lips were about to meet, they heard the crack outside and then the roof above splitting open as Willow tumbled through and landed in a heap on the floor at the foot of the bed. They both sat up in bed, holding the blanket around them as they looked down at Willow as she stood up and brushed herself off.

"Hey," Willow said shyly as she looked at both of them in the bed. "Uh...sorry about barging in on you like this. Seems like I have to work on my landing a little more."

"Willow, what are you doing here? And by here I mean in my room?" Buffy asked, holding the blanket tighter around her.

"We've got a little problem and when I say little I mean big."

Faith laid back on the bed, wondering if it would _ever_ end. "What's the big problem, Will?" Faith asked, leaning up just enough to look up at her. "Better be good. Besides, I thought you were off in England with the coven getting all magicked up again?"

"I was. I'm feeling much better now. But I came back as soon as I heard the news. I thought you two might want to be the first to know."

"Know what?" Buffy and Faith both asked.

"Sunnydale is back. And so is the First."


	16. Epilogue

**Epilogue**

Everyone piled into the office, anxious to see if Giles and Willow had found out anything more in the last three hours they'd been in there making phone calls to other members of the new Council around the world. Buffy let Faith go off on her own and she stood by the window, smoking a cigarette and stealing glances across the crowded room at her. Buffy smiled at her each and every time their eyes met, but the smile always faded quickly, remembering the reason why every single one of them were in the small office.

Sunnydale was back and although Buffy had no idea how that was even possible, she wanted to know if this was real or if it was something else, a trick of sorts that the First was playing on them. Faith had seemed rather distant since Willow had crashed through her bedroom ceiling, but she hadn't had the chance to get Faith alone to ask her what was going on.

"If everyone could please quiet down," Giles said over the chatter that filled the room. As soon as everyone stopped talking, he cleared his throat and looked around the room. "There is no easy way to explain this," he began. "Sunnydale is back...or rather...time has been altered and it never really imploded as it had just over a year ago. The contacts I have are looking more into how this could be and in the meantime, I want to arrange a research team here of our own to look into this matter."

"I know how it happened," Faith said from where she still leaned against the windowsill. "I made a wish with Danu before we headed out to fight yesterday."

"A wish? Do you believe she granted it?"

"Dunno," Faith shrugged. "But if Sunnydale is back...or in this case never really imploded when the Hellmouth collapsed, then she made it happen before she died to close that portal."

Buffy stood there unable to speak. She remembered when Danu had told her before she died and how Danu had told her that Faith had made a wish for _her_. She knew she should've asked Faith last night about that wish, but they were a little more preoccupied.

"What did you wish for, Faith?" Willow asked as Giles began to usher the younger slayers out of the office, instructing Kennedy to get together a research team with Andrew right away. "I think we need to know every detail of this wish in order to understand it."

"This wish didn't bring the First back, did it?" Dawn asked, glaring at Faith and then over at Buffy.

"No, the First was already preparing its return long before we even faced the Neqa'el. Percy Chapman has a hand in this," Giles replied. "Faith, we need to know exactly what you wished for."

Faith groaned and ran a hand through her hair. "You need all the details? 'Cause I don't even know what came true here or not."

"That's what we'll find out," Giles said calmly. "If you'd rather just speak with Willow and I privately about this then we can-"

"No. No, it's okay. Uh...let's see," Faith said as she flicked her cigarette out the window and crossed her arms over her chest. "Uh, kinda wished for Buffy to have what she wanted back."

"Be more specific," Buffy said. She slowly approached Faith and stood in front of her. "What did you wish for, baby?"

"For you to know what it's like to be normal, but I guess with the First being back in the game, that ain't gonna happen, huh?"

"What else?" Buffy asked and she placed her hands on Faith's shoulders as she looked away. "Faith, what else did you wish for?"

"For your mom to be back, alive and well. For you and for Dawn."

"What?"

"B..."

"She's...she's alive?" Buffy asked, completely floored and yet unable to comprehend the fact that her mother could be alive and well and in Sunnydale waiting for her and Dawn to come home.

"Buffy, we do not know what parts of Faith's wish actually came true, but if Sunnydale is indeed still there, it's quite possible the rest of her wish happened," Giles said and he motioned to Willow to grab him something from the bookshelf. She came back with a bottle of Scotch and handed it to him. "Is there anything else, Faith?"

"Tara," she said under her breath just loud enough for Buffy to hear her. "Wished for my family to be around too, not so sure that'd work out even if they turned out to be completely different from the way they'd been before."

"Tara?" Buffy whispered. "You wished for her to come back for Willow?"

Faith nodded. "I did."

"Why didn't you tell me about this last night or this morning before Willow fell through the roof?"

"Dunno, B. Didn't think it'd actually happen. Danu said it'd take time for it to fall into place. Didn't think it'd take less than a day here."

"Giles, make a few phone calls to Sunnydale, see if what she wished for came true," Buffy said, her leadership tone slipping in with ease. "Willow, is there any way you can teleport us to Sunnydale?"

"Now?"

"No, not right now. Later."

"I uh...I'm sure I could, but I'm feeling a little woozy from being magicked up earlier."

"How'd you get here then?" Faith asked. "You fell through the fuckin' roof."

"I flew. Easier magic than teleporting."

"I can book a private flight to Sunnydale by tomorrow morning," Giles said and he took his teacup from his desk and poured himself some Scotch. "Buffy, I imagine you and Dawn will want to return to Sunnydale as soon as possible. Faith, what do you want to do?"

"I'm going."

"But," Giles sighed and he downed what he had in his cup in one mouthful. "I will need for you to stop in Cleveland, check on things there with Robin, Vi, and Rona. I need for you to make sure they'll be okay there until we can send them a new team of girls to help them with the Hellmouth there."

"Wait," Dawn said and rolled her eyes when Buffy shushed at her. "If Sunnydale is back, doesn't that mean the Hellmouth is back too? Wouldn't that mean less activity in Cleveland and everywhere else?"

"We don't know right now, Dawn," Buffy said and she looked over at Giles. "Find out what you can as soon as you can. Who is going to stay here?"

"Ken could stay. She's good with the girls. Natural born leader and all that. I'm sure she'll be fuckin' thrilled to take over for you and me, B," Faith chuckled.

Buffy moved away from Faith and sat down on the edge of Giles' cluttered desk. There was just too much going on for her mind to process. All she cared about finding out was if her mother truly was alive. She needed to know and she wasn't sure she could wait for Giles to make his phone calls first. While Faith got into a heavy conversation with Willow about the consequences of making a wish, Buffy slipped out of the office and headed for the control room.

Xander was standing in front of the monitors, flipping through each one with the master remote. "Oh hey, Buff. How'd the meeting go?"

"Uh...okay I guess," she shrugged. "You have no idea what's going on, do you?"

"Heard that Sunnydale might be back. I'm trying to see if I can find a way to take a look. Andrew hooked us up to a satellite last night."

"Is it working?"

"Got to wait for it to line up to the coordinates before I'll know for sure. What do you think about all of this?"

"I don't know," she said shakily. "Faith made a wish."

"For Sunnydale to come back?"

"Among other things. She wished for my mom to be back, alive and well. For me and Dawn."

"No way," Xander said as he turned to look at her. "Are you serious?"

"Yeah. Giles is going to find out as much as he can. We're going back."

"Back? Back to Sunnydale?" Xander asked and Buffy nodded. "And who is we?"

"Me, Dawn, Willow, and Faith. I don't know if you want to come back..."

"Wherever you go, I go. Promised you that after Sunnydale, remember?"

"Yeah, I remember. Oh, look," Buffy said as she pointed to one of the monitors. "Is that Sunnydale?"

"Looks like it. Wow. That's something else," Xander said, looking and sounding a little dazed as they both stared intently. "It's like it never got swallowed up by the Hellmouth."

"But the First is here...or there actually. I'm all confused, Xander. How can one wish make this happen? How can one wish bring my mother and Tara back?"

"Tara is back too?"

Buffy nodded. "I don't think she...I'm not sure if Faith wished for Anya for you, Xander."

"It's all right, Buff. I loved Anya and I still do, but sometimes I think it's better just to have things run according to fate. Faith making that wish has played with the fates, tempted them. There'll be consequences."

"You sound like Willow."

"So," Xander sighed as he turned to look at her again. "What are we gonna do now?"

"We go home."

* * *

To Be Continued in the sequel The Return


End file.
